


Romeo and... Cullen?!

by jimblejamblewrite



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 44,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27525877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jimblejamblewrite/pseuds/jimblejamblewrite
Summary: Laverne Cullen, better known as Verne, turned into a vampire at sixteen and living with the rest of her family in Forks, Washington. Her life takes a series of turns when it seems like everyone has found their mate and Verne is just living life. After learning who her potential mate could be, Verne thinks it might've been better to never know. Edward thought he lived a Shakespeare play with Bella? His younger adopted sibling was truly living out the start to and old English tragedy.
Relationships: Edward Cullen/Bella Swan, Jacob Black/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

“Someone tell me again why I can’t move up and be in junior year with Ed, Alice and Jas?” Verne yelled from the balcony of her room. 

The yelling wasn’t necessary. They could all hear her from the balcony if she were at a normal speaking level the same way Verne could hear them if they were to speak at a normal level. Verne was already dressed for school minus makeup, hair and shoes. She walked casually to her bathroom and opened up the various drawers to get out her supplies. Her amber eyes looked extra gold this morning, evidence of last night’s family hunt, the black wings from the liner making them even more gold. She pulled the latest lipstick she had bought from the store and swatched it on the back of her hand, grimacing as she looked at the ugly shade of pink against brown skin. 

_Not that funny, Ed_. Verne thought as Edward’s laughter could be heard from across the hall in his room. He was laughing louder on purpose just so she would be sure to hear it.

Verne wiped the lipstick off of her hand and picked up a different shade. She would just give the pink to Alice, everything looked good on her skin. Racing down the stairs at vamp speed, Verne went straight to the refrigerator. She hummed contently to herself while looking in the fridge. Esme had stocked up on food and even made some biscuits. Verne warmed up two biscuits and after spreading butter on them sat down at the kitchen island. 

“Ugh, Laverne, how can you eat that stuff?” 

“You know Rose, we were all human at one point. I seem to remember you liking this stuff,” she said, waving around a piece of biscuit. Verne set the food down and picked up the cup of blood, putting the straw to her lips. 

“Still, it tastes like shit now.”

Verne shrugged. Something felt like she should eat. Blood was just needed for basic body functions, a single cup in the morning was probably enough to survive. Food was what really got Verne going for energy and even strength. Carlisle thought it had something to do with how she was bitten. Verne, personally, didn't care enough to figure out why. 

“It’s cause baby Cullen’s a weird one.” Emmett ruffled her hair as he spoke. “And you’re a sophomore because you look like one, you were turned at sixteen. Deal with it. Besides, now we get to stay here a little bit longer.” 

“Hands off the curls, bro.” 

Verne pushed his hand away. She already knew that being younger was a benefit for the whole family but it was still annoying. Senior year and she’d be without her siblings. 

“Alright, I’ll catch you all at school. Dad asked me to drop off these files to Chief Swan.”

“Chief Swan? What does he want from Carlisle?” Emmett asked downing the leftover blood in the cup. 

“Files. Something to do with the animal attacks around Washington, they’re coming closer to Forks you know. I think Carlisle’s been looking at the bodies. I’ll catch you at school, which I will be late for if I don’t drop off the files now.” 

Verne pulled up to the Swan’s residence to see a beat-up, burnt orange truck. 

“Hey Chief, I didn’t know you got a new car,” she said, getting out of the Mercedes convertible, the top down on this oddly clear Forks’ day. Verne's nose scrunched a little at the slight hint of wet-dog smell.

“Hey, Laverne. This ride’s not mine, it’s for…”

“It’s uh, my ride.” A pale girl got out of the driver’s seat. 

“Right! They’ve been talking about the chief’s daughter coming back to town. Isabella, right?” she extended a hand. 

“Just Bella.”

“Bella, got it. Then call me just Verne… and you would be?” the girl turned her attention to a tan boy standing slightly awkwardly to the side. 

“Jacob, Jacob Black.” 

“Nice to meet you, Jacob.” 

Verne ignored the glare she could feel from a man in a wheelchair who she could only assume was Jacob’s father. Black. She knew that name well. The faint wet dog was definitely coming off the old man and his chair. 

“Well, I’m just here to drop off these,” she said, handing Charlie the files. 

“Good, the station will be pleased to see these. One step closer to figuring things out. Tell your dad I said thanks.” 

“Will do Chief Swan. You need a ride to school, Bella?” 

“I don’t start till tomorrow.” 

“Alright, then. Swans, Blacks. I wish you a good day, I’m off to class.” 

“Need a pass?” 

“From the chief of police? Anything to get out of study hall, thanks Chief.” Verne waited for him to write up a letter for the office and then sped away to Forks High School. 

* * *

“I call shotgun!” Verne sped downstairs as fast as she could. 

“Too late,” Jasper said smugly as he closed the passenger door to Emmett’s Jeep. 

“Whatever, I’ll just ride with Edward,” she muttered, slinking over to the silver Passat. 

“Am I that bad, Verne?”

“No, you just drive reckless.” 

Edward smirked as he drove out the garage and onto the main road. The drive was quiet. When it’s Edward and Verne, it’s always quiet. People wouldn’t think the two were the closest in the house based on first glance but they just existed in the silence. Edward reminded Verne so much of her actual older brother, it was scary how alike they could be in personality. He knew that that’s why Ed chose to stick so close. 

Edward and Verne walked with Alice to their first class of AP English. The most the Cullens could swing was getting the youngest into a few advanced classes with the juniors but she was still a sophomore. English went the same as it always does. Mr. Varner’s teaching style never changed. 

Lunch rolled around and Verne met up with the rest of the Cullen siblings outside, ready to walk into the cafeteria. Sometimes it was aggravating looking at them all coupled up, like they had to show everyone their affection as they walked to lunch. Edward threw an arm over Verne's shoulder and smiled as she looked up at him. 

“We can be alone together, Verne.”

“I really wish you couldn’t read my thoughts, it’s getting old.”

“Give it a couple more decades, maybe it’ll get old to me too.”

“Whatever, Eddie. Let’s just head inside, I’m absolutely starving.” 

Edward clutched her shoulder a little tighter as they walked in. Verne reached up to grab his hand and gave it a soft squeeze. The cafeteria could be overwhelming for Ed, too many unadulterated teenage thoughts running wild; and, he struggled to filter it all out sometimes. 

“The Cullens. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen’s foster kids. It’s been going around Mrs. Cullen can’t have kids, so they’ve taken to adoption.” 

Verne's ears pricked up at the mention of their names. No one really talked about the Cullen family like that anymore after a year, gossip’s no longer interesting. Verne looked out of the corner of her eye to find the source of the voice. Jessica and her friends, including Bella. She tuned in intrigued as to what they had to say; it seemed the rest of the Cullen siblings felt the same way. All of them purposely walked a little slower just for effect, Emmett and Rosalie leading the way. 

“They’re all like together. Rosalie, the blonde one, yeah she’s with the big one, Emmett. Like a thing.”

“Jess, they’re not actually related,” Angela quickly interjected.

“Yeah I know, but it’s still kinda weird don’t you think? Anyway, the small dark-haired girl Alice is with Jasper. He’s the one that always looks like he’s in pain.”

Emmett snorted, trying to contain his laughter, at Jessica’s comment about Jasper. 

“Dr. Cullen’s like this foster dad matchmaker.” 

_Well, Jess isn’t too wrong on that._ Verne thought.

“Maybe, he’ll adopt me,” Angela said.

“What about him?” Bella asked.

“Edward? Totally hot, supposedly single.”

“He’s not with her?” 

Verne unlocked her fingers from Edward’s and he removed his arm from her shoulder with a quickness, both of them disgusted. Maybe it would’ve appeared like the two heard them but in that moment neither of cared. Honestly, humans don’t notice that well anyway. 

“Oh no. Just really close. I’ve heard that they’re actually related, half-siblings or something. No one really knows. No, Edward’s completely single. No one here seems good enough for him. Don’t waste your time.” 

Verne pushed Edward’s shoulder as they sat down. He was laughing gently, remembering his less than gentle way of shutting Jess down. 

“Wasn’t planning on it.” Verne heard Bella say. 

“And that’s Laverne. Youngest Cullen, she’s actually a sophomore. Also single, not like every guy hasn’t tried. Her brothers seem to stop anything before a guy can even get close to her. She keeps to herself just like the rest of them.”

“Really? She seemed nice the other day.” 

“You talked to Laverne Cullen?” Mike asked while Jessica and Angela just stared in shock. 

“She just came to drop something off to my dad but yeah, she offered to give me a ride to school.” 

Bella gave the girl a small wave that Verne decided to return much to the shocked looks of Bella's friend. It was the Cullens turn to look at their sister crazy. She just shrugged her shoulders and got up to get food, watching Bella, Jessica and Tyler get up and move towards the lunch line as well. 

“Hey, Verne.” 

“Hey Bella. Jessica, Tyler.” Verne nodded at the two behind her. They both mumbled out their own ‘hey Verne’ as if surprised she would even speak to them. 

“How’s your first day been, Bells?” 

“Alright, only three classes left. Barely survived gym but other than that, alright.”

“That’s good. Listen, my family will have my head if I don’t get back to our table but we should do something this weekend. Maybe catch a film or something? Not much to do in Forks, you know.”

“Yeah, uh, yeah, seems good,” Bella stuttered. 

“Cool, oh my sister will probably want to join us knowing Alice. I’ll let you know, I guess. Catch you later.” 

Verne strolled back to her table munching on the chips from the tray. Perk to being a vampire, she could eat all the junk food she wanted and never gain weight or anything.

“You want to spend time with her? The Swan girl?” Edward asked when his sister sat back down.

“Maybe she’s actually interesting, be nice to know someone at this school besides you guys.” 

The rest of Verne's family scoffed as she stuffed your face with the few chips left on the plate. 

* * *

Verne was exiting the front doors of the school when she saw a silver Volvo zip out the parking lot at the speed of light. 

“Edward, what the hell?!” Verne asked when he picked up the phone after the fourth time calling. He didn’t say anything but a weak sorry and hung up.

“Come on Verne, I’ll even let you ride shotgun.” Jasper walked by. She followed him and walked towards Emmett’s car. 

“Seriously, Ed a heads up would’ve been nice. Thanks for fucking leaving me!” Verne yelled as she entered the house. 

“He’s not here,” Esme said, coming from wherever she was in the house. 

“What do you mean he’s not here, mom? He sped out of the parking lot with a vengeance where else would he go?”

“He stopped by briefly. All he said was La Tua Cantante.” 

Verne stopped in her tracks. For now, she decided to drop it. Verne figured she could forgive him for leaving if it had to do with his mate.


	2. Chapter 2

“You seem nothing like your brother,” Bella said as the two girls waited in line for popcorn.

“Hmm?”

“You’re…how do I put this… nicer.”

“Right, I heard what happened in biology. Don’t mind my brother, he’s emotional. Seriously, mood swings out the wazoo with that one sometimes. You probably caught him at an off time. He’ll be back soon and you can say something then.” 

Both girls reached for the bucket of popcorn at the same time, Bella’s hand pulled back quickly. 

“You’re freezing.” 

_Crap_ , Verne thought. 

“Um yeah, I have really poor circulation,” she said the first lie that came to mind. 

“You should probably get that checked out.”

“My dad’s a doctor, if he says I’m not dead then it’s nothing to worry over.” 

Bella didn’t say anything else. She just grabbed the popcorn and they walked into the theater. 

* * *

Edward grabbed the cup of blood from Verne's hand and took a sip.

“Eww, what is this?” 

“Raccoon, and next time ask before you just take my food,” she said grabbing the cup back. 

“I thought you didn’t even like blood, you and your people food.” 

“You know I still need it to function a bit. Speaking of people food, well, people… you could try to act human you know. You should apologize to Bella on Monday. I mean I know you like to reject every girl at school but this time was mean.”

“You don’t get it.”

“Enlighten me.”

“La Tua…”

“Cantante,” Verne finished for him, “That’s who mom was talking about? You’re in love with Isabella Swan?!” 

Edward sighed and rested his arms on the kitchen island. “In love and completely overwhelmed by her very scent.” 

“Well, I can’t be of much advice but whatever you do Ed, don’t kill her. I kinda like this little town and I’d like to stay as long as possible. Murdering the chief’s daughter is definitely a one way ticket to moving.”

“Thank you, Laverne.”

“Love you too, man.” 

* * *

Bella and Verne walked towards Bella's truck. The Cullen had gotten a ride with her that morning. Regardless of however Edward felt towards Bella, she wasn’t that bad to Verne. She could even say they had become somewhat friends. Verne leaned against the truck as Bella fished through her bag for her car keys.

“You’re still staying for dinner? Your folks are cool with it?” 

“Yeah, Carlisle and Esme are pretty chill parents. We have a good amount of free reign.” 

Verne looked over to where her siblings were standing by their cars watching her and Bella and not just talking like every other student probably thought they were. They all seemed to watch with vague interest aside from Rosalie and Edward. Verne couldn’t read Edward’s face but Rosalie’s was pretty obvious. If it was any other student she probably wouldn’t care; but, her sister being friends with their brother’s bloodsinger rubbed her all sorts of the wrong way. She had a bad feeling about danger coming to the family. 

_Tell Rose, even though she’s a vamp if she keeps scowling she’ll manage to get wrinkles_ , Verne thought, purposely directing it towards Edward. 

He chuckled and shook his head. Before she could think of anything else, Verne heard the screeching of tires against the icy parking lot. Everything moved in slow motion. She saw Tyler’s van barreling towards Bella’s truck and her siblings go wide-eyed. Verne couldn’t move. The screeching sounded so familiar. She wasn't standing in the school parking lot anymore. She was in a flipped over car, blood everywhere. Verne knew it wasn’t real but she still couldn’t bring herself to do anything to snap out of the vision. The sound of tires still ringing in her ear. 

She watched in horror as Edward raced over to where they were standing. Even as he stopped Tyler’s van and crouched over Bella, Verne was frozen. It wasn’t until Edward pulled on her wrist that she met his eyes and snapped out of it. Edward quickly fled the scene and Verne bent down along with several others to check that Bella wasn’t injured.

* * *

No one paid attention to the Cullens as they argued in the small hallway of the hospital. Carlisle and Rosalie weren’t exactly keen on Edward racing in to save the day. 

“I wouldn’t have had to run if Verne moved.”

“Just because you gave away our secret doesn’t mean you have to be an asshole to me Ed. I’ll see you guys back at the house, let me know when you’ve figured out what we’re telling Bella.” 

Verne tried to walk out as calmly as she could. Edward could really be a douche sometimes, it’s not like he didn’t know why she froze up. He had seen it in her thoughts a thousand times. Verne raced to the school, careful to make sure no one saw, in order to grab Bella’s truck and drop it back off at her house. The old truck was honestly a piece of junk. Verne didn’t care how much Bella liked it, this thing moved so slow. Charlie’s cruiser wasn’t in sight when she pulled up; but another car was. Verne took the keys out of the truck’s ignition and used the house key to let herself in. 

“Is Bella okay, Charlie?” A man’s voice rang out. 

“It’s not Charlie, I’m just here to drop off Bella’s keys!” 

“Hmm?” 

Verne placed the keys in the kitchen and then walked over to the living room to show herself. Upon meeting the eyes of Billy Black, she regretted not having just left without saying anything. 

“Hey, Verne,” Jacob said, sitting next to his dad on the couch. 

“Hi, Jacob. Hello, Mr. Black. What are you guys doing here?”

“Watching the game with Charlie before he got called by the hospital. Told us to stay and he’ll be right back.” 

“Oh well I was, um, just saying I was here to drop off Bella’s car and her keys. She’s fine. The van did more damage to the truck than anything else. I’ll just be going now, can you tell Bella her keys are on the table.” 

“If you dropped off her truck do you need a ride home?” Jacob stood up from the couch. 

“Oh, um I don’t know…”

“Jacob, the girl’s fine.” Billy’s eyes never left the Cullen. 

“It’s fine, dad. I’ll be back in a minute. You ready, Verne?” 

Jacob walked past her and his dad and towards the front door. Verne quickly shuffled past Billy mumbling a ‘nice to meet you’ and walked with Jacob towards his car. 

“Did you really just change the station from Rock ‘N Roll Classics for who even is this?” Jake asked as Verne turned the dial on the radio. They were halfway through the drive. 

“I like rock it’s just Aerosmith’s not really my thing. Don’t tell me you’re a genre purist.”

“I’m not a genre purist. I like pop, it’s just Madonna…I don’t know.”

“So you admit you know who this is!” She laughed as Jacob rolled his eyes.

“Okay, yes I know Madonna. Guilty as charged.”

“I knew it,” she said with a satisfied grin. “Pull off here.”

“This is the woods?” 

“Yeah, just right here. It’s a road, I can just walk the rest of the way.”

“I’m not letting you walk the woods alone when we’re already this close.” 

There was no point in arguing with Jacob. He didn’t know what was really going on in the world around him; and, there was no rational reason Verne could give for why he shouldn’t drive her all the way home without revealing everything. She just sat back and continued to point him in the direction of the house. 

“Woah, nice place,” He said as he pulled up. 

“Yeah, Esme really has a thing for design. Thanks for dropping me off Jacob.” She unfastened her seatbelt and got out. 

“Eh, it was nothing really.” Jacob looked like he was going to say something else when Verne could feel Emmett and Jasper come up behind her. 

“He was just dropping me back home. I was riding with Bella this morning, remember.” 

Verne knew they could smell the wet dog all throughout the car, evidence of Billy and potentially Jacob’s true nature. 

“Thanks again, Jacob.”

He nodded. “Hey, um. I was wondering if you weren’t too busy maybe we could do something next week?”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” Jasper’s Texan accent slipped out a little. 

“Oh whatever, Jas. Here.” She handed Jacob her phone so he could put in his number. “Just text me and we’ll figure something out.” 

“Okay. Well, I’ll catch you around. Better get back to my old man. See you later, Verne.”

She waved as he drove away. Ignoring the slight growls from her brothers, she walked into the house. 

“Really, Verne? First the human girl and now a werewolf boy.”

“Potential werewolf boy… well, more shifter if you think about it.” 

“Not the point.”


	3. Chapter 3

Over the weekend Verne went over to Bella’s house just to check up on her. After making sure the Swan girl was fine she stopped at a little diner before going back home, to-go box of cheesecake on the passenger’s seat of her car. 

“Anyone home?” she asked as she walked into the house, munching on cheesecake. 

“Just me,” Carlisle said as he met his youngest in the living room. “Everyone’s out hunting and your brother is still somewhere in Alaska.” 

Verne hummed in understanding, she didn’t think Edward would be gone for much longer. 

Monday rolled around and Carlisle had pulled everyone out of school. Edward still wasn’t back but he had texted that morning that he’d be back for school tomorrow. While the rest of her siblings had to stay away from Forks High School, Verne technically could’ve gone. 

About sixteen years ago, she stopped sparkling hardcore like the rest of her siblings. It took a lot of sun to get her skin shimmering and even then, it didn’t look too bad, just like she’d put on glittered lotion. Another thing to add to the list of traits that made Verne's vampirism a very strange case to her foster dad. Verne still chose not to go to school though, it only helped keep up the lie if Carlisle pulled every one out of school. 

Verne's phone pinged and she reached for it. 

_Hey, this is Jacob._ A text appeared. 

**_Hey, Jacob. What’s up?_ **

_You doing anything today?_

_**Don’t you have school?** _

_The Rez is off today. What about you?_

**_I’m totally free today, Wanna head into town?_ **

_Yeah sure, I’ll meet you at your house in a few?_

Verne quickly called him. “Hey, maybe it’s best if we meet at Forks High School and then just take one car. Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah sure.” 

* * *

“Your car or mine?”

Verne pulled up next to Jacob who was already waiting at the high school. She rolled down the top to the Mercedes. Jacob looked at the convertible impressed. 

“Definitely yours,” he said as he got out of his car and into the passenger seat of the convertible. 

“Knew it. No one can resist the convertible. So, what are we doing today?” 

Verne pulled out of the school parking lot and started towards the “downtown” of Forks. Jacob gave directions to a shop she hadn’t seen before. 

“Is this new?” 

“Yeah, they just put it in a few weeks ago I think. You can decorate your own succulent pots. Not super exciting but it’s Forks and this was kind of short notice.”

“No, this is cool. We actually get a plant right? Not just the pot?”

Jacob gave a short laugh as he held open the door for you. “I think we get the plant too.” 

Verne had two small aloe plants in front of her and Jacob had a couple succulents of his own in front of him. The two sat across from each other so they could still talk while decorating. 

“How long have you been in Forks?”

“Two years now, give or take? We were in Alaska for a bit and Maine before that.” 

Verne placed a layer of white sand around the plant to cover the soil and make it look nicer. She watched as Jacob started to paint his first glass jar. He stopped as soon as he started, frustratingly pushing his long hair back as he tried to avoid dipping it in the paint. Verne pulled her extra scrunchie from off her wrist and handed it to him. Jacob muttered a thank you as he tossed his hair up in bun and continued work.

“Wow. You guys moved a lot.”

“Yeah, dad’s job. Carlisle had a hard time finding a hospital that really worked for him.”

“So where did you live before Dr. Cullen happened…oh, sorry is that too personal?” Jacob said as he filled his second square glass jars with soil. 

“It’s fine. I’m from California originally.”

“Cali? Guess Washington was a big weather adjustment.”

“Yeah a bit. But I’m starting to like the cold. Doesn’t bother me too much anymore…Switch seats with me,” she said quickly, confusing Jacob. He switched anyway. 

Verne pulled her bucket hat down a little bit. 

“Um, Verne? Mind telling me why you just…” Jacob faltered off, seeing Rosalie and Alice, covered head to toe, across the street looking at a small furniture store. “Your sisters, I’m guessing they’re like your brothers?”

“Sorry?”

“Nothing to be sorry for. My dad’s a little on the fence too.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t tell him about this either.”

Jacob smiled as he grabbed one of the metallic paint pens. “What the old man doesn’t know won’t kill him.” 

Verne laughed a little bit as she also started to paint her pot.

* * *

Bella was showing Verne pictures of her life back in Arizona as they rode the bus to the greenhouse for a field trip. 

“You know I went to Arizona once. I wanted to die from the heat.”

“Didn’t you say you were from Cali?”

“Yeah Bells, but Arizona was a different kind of heat, I can’t.” 

Bella laughed. “Yeah the heat’s kind of killing but the scenery’s nice. Especially the cacti, there were a bunch near my old school.”

“You know, there’s a plant decorating pot shop downtown. Just opened up. We can go sometime. I think I saw cacti there as one of the plant choices.”

“Really? Yeah that’d be nice. It’s new?”

“Yeah, Jacob took me the other day. He said it only opened up a month ago or something like that.” 

“I didn’t know you and Jake were friends.” 

“Uh, I don’t know about friends yet. We’ve only hung out like once for real, but yeah, I guess you could say that. It’s only cause he dropped me off back home after I returned your car.”

“Thanks for returning it, you saved Charlie a lot of trouble.”

“No problem. Are you okay after the accident?” You asked as you got off the bus. 

“I’m fine, your dad said there was no major damage.” 

Verne nodded as their group walked into the greenhouse. Bella went up ahead with Edward while Verne hung back with the rest of her siblings. Jessica had strolled next to the girl. She paused awkwardly, a little intimidated by Jasper who was behind. Verne felt bad but also she was blessed it was just Jasper. If Rosalie wasn’t a senior and was on the trip, Jessica would be facing down a death glare. At least Jasper only looked scary. He, Emmett, and Alice didn’t really care about Verne's so called “entertaining” of humans. Jessica worked up whatever courage she could to start a conversation. 

“Hey, Verne. Um, a bunch of us are thinking about going to the beach sometime this week.”

“Sounds fun. Loved the beaches in Cali. I actually learned how to surf. Was in a few competitions, placed third a couple times.”

“Really? I surf too. Cool…so the beach. Do you want to come with us?”

“Why not, not like I do much anyway.”

“Laverne?” Jasper questioned behind the two. 

Verne looked up at her brother and he raised an eyebrow. Jessica didn’t understand the silent communication between the two but the girl was beginning to think that the other Cullens were about to ruin her plans. 

“Right…” Verne turned back, “Jess, what beach?”

“La Push.”

“Oh…” she faltered off.

“I’m guessing you got a thing with La Push.”

“Yeah, it’s just, our family we don’t. It’s hard to explain.”

“No that’s fine. Bummer you can’t come.”

“Sorry, maybe some other time or another beach?” 

Verne caught up with Bella as the field trip was coming to an end. Edward looked a bit mad. 

“Hi, Bella. Are you catching the bus with us?” Alice asked as she and Jasper walked over to the group. 

“No, bus is full,” Edward snapped, “Come on Verne. Let’s go.”

Edward grabbed his sister's hand and pulled her into the bus. Verne gave an apologetic look to Bella who just shook her head in understanding as she walked to the other bus. 

“That was rude, Ed.” 

He slumped in his seat and glared out the window. 

* * *

“Prom?” Verne asked as she walked by Bella’s table at lunch the next day. 

“Woah, you must have wicked hearing.” 

Verne smiled sheepishly and tried to act like it was nothing. She sat down at the empty seat next to Bella. 

“Yeah, I was just saying I took initiative and asked Eric prom and he said yes,” Angela said excitedly. 

“Good for you! We love when a woman takes initiative. Yes, girl.”

“Thanks.” Angela smiled. 

“So I take it this means dress shopping? I love dress shopping! Oh…sorry, this is probably a junior thing cause prom.” 

Verne took a bite of her apple. It lacked a bit of flavor food normally gave her, probably because she hadn’t had blood in a few days. 

“No, you should totally come. Besides, you’ll probably need a dress. You might be a sophomore but I know about so many guys that are begging to ask you… if they can get through your brothers,” Jessica said, making Verne chuckle a bit. 

“No, but yeah you should join us. Especially since you couldn’t come to the beach. We were thinking about heading into Port Angeles.” 

“Port Angeles?” Bella perked up. “Mind if I come too?”

“Duh, you’re coming Bella,” Jessica said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

* * *

The girls all gathered into Jessica’s car as she sped off for Port Angeles. Shopping was nothing new to Verne, Alice and Rosalie made a point to have a haul at least once a month; but, it was refreshing to go with new people. She fluttered about the racks picking out dresses she thought would look best on Angela and Jessica while Bella sat on the window bench giving her opinion. Bella didn’t seem that interested in dresses but the girls were glad she was there anyway. 

“So, we like this purple one the best so far?” 

“Yeah, Jess. Currently #1,” Verne said, sitting down on the window bench. 

Bella agreed looking at Jess in the strapless dress. As Angela stepped out, Verne and Bella praised the two girls for looking so pretty. They were in debate about which dress looked the best when a bunch of older boys knocked on the window Verne and Bella were sitting in. They catcalled and made rude gestures. One of the boys even bent down to be face level with them and kissed the glass. Verne banged against the window, disgusted.

“Boys are actually the worst,” Jessica said annoyed. “I’m not sold on this yet. I’m gonna keep looking.” 

“Hey, do you guys mind if I catch you at the restaurant? There’s a bookstore I wanted to check out while we were here and it’s gonna close soon.” Bella picked awkwardly at her shirt sleeve. 

“Yeah, Bella. We’ll catch you at dinner.” 

Verne stood up. “I’m gonna go with her to make sure we’re all safe.”

“Sounds good,” Angela said. “See you guys in a bit!”

Verne left the dress shop and followed Bella to whatever bookstore she was looking for. The store smelled strongly of old paper and something made the Cullen feel like it wasn’t just her vampire sense of smell enhancing it. She trailed behind her friend as Bella strolled up and down the aisles. She found what she was looking for. Verne took a peek at the book that said _Quileute Legends_ written on the front. Verne stiffened slightly. Bella was trying to figure everything out, Verne were sure of it. It was a matter of time before Edward would have to deal with this. 

Verne acted like she didn’t care as she noticed Bella watching her expression. It wasn’t just Edward, Bella was on to her as well. Maybe the whole family, Verne wasn’t sure. But she ate food, she didn’t sparkle much, so many things about her were different from the rest of her family. Maybe Bella wouldn’t think about it… or maybe that would make her ask more questions. Bella paid and the two walked out of the store, ready for dinner. Verne absentmindedly followed her friend until she looked up to find it had gotten dark and the two weren’t on the main road anymore.

“Uh, Bells. I think we’re lost.”

“Yeah, I made a wrong turn but I think it’s just this way. I’m pretty sure we passed this on the way to the store.” 

Before the two could move any further, a group of guys emerged from the alley. Verne was too focused on their predicament that she didn’t even hear the heavy, drunk breathing of the men until they were right in front of them. It was the boys from the window at the dress shop. 

“Well, look what we got here boys.”

One of the boys reached out to grab Verne's arm. She pushed him away, not with all her strength but with just enough that he knew she wasn't one to mess with. He sneered at her and Bella as he and the other men got closer. Verne took a deep breath. 

_This is it,_ she thought. _Bella’s gonna find out._

Verne didn’t see how they were going to get out of the situation without revealing her true nature. Verne dared the men to make one more step, ready to attack the closest one when the screeching of tires drew everyone’s attention. Edward’s silver Volvo sped into the alleyway, leaving skid marks on the road behind him. 

“Get in the car.” Edward said lowly as he got out. 

“Get in the car!” He yelled out once more. Verne pulled Bella along, making sure she got into the passenger’s side before sliding into the back seat. 

She watched her brother in a standoff with the men. 

_Don’t do it. Please, Edward it’s not worth it,_ she thought.

Edward's head snapped around as he connected eyes with his sister in the backseat. He growled at the men once more and got into the car, slamming the door as he did. Edward wasted no time putting the car in drive and speeding off. 

“I should go back and rip those guys heads off!”

“No you shouldn’t,” Bella said calmly. 

“You don’t know the foul things they were thinking. The repulsive…about you both.”

“Edward,” Verne said sharply. He was talking too much. 

“And you do?” Bella retorted. 

“Talk to me, distract me so I don’t go back and kill them,” he said to Bella. 

Edward’s hands gripped the steering wheel tight and he began to apply more pressure on the gas pedal. 

“Edward, slow down,” Verne said but he wasn’t listening. He was still too heated. 

The speedometer’s speed kept increasing and Verne watched the buildings and lights become almost indiscernible as he kept going faster. Her breathing accelerated along with the car’s speed. The screeching sound of the tires as the rubber burned against the asphalt rang in her ears. 

“Edward, slow down.” 

The crashing sound rang in the girl's ears. There was so much blood around her, so many flashing lights. She stared blankly at the lines on the road ahead, tears streaming down her face. 

“Edward, slow down!” 

Her brother finally heard her, more like heard her very loud and very scared thoughts. The car came to a screeching stop right in front of the restaurant as the three of them piled out the car. Edward went wide-eyed running over to hug his sister. 

“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t even. Verne, I didn’t mean,” he stuttered out. 

“I need to go.” 

The tears wouldn’t cease and she was starting to go a bit red in the nose an action that shouldn’t have been possible and at any other time would have had Edward very inquisitive. 

“Oh my gosh, where were you guys? We were starving and kinda ate already, sorry… woah, Verne are you alright?” Angela asked as she and Jessica came out from inside the restaurant. 

“Sorry, I held them up. I’m going to make sure Bella gets something to eat. Jess, Angela. I know Verne came with you, will you please make sure my sister gets home safe. I don’t think she’s doing very well,” Edward spoke up. 

“Of course.” Jessica threw an arm around Verne's shoulder. She winked at Bella as she and Edward walked into the restaurant with each other. 

“Come on, hun. Let’s go get the car.” 

Angela and Jessica were kind enough to let the tears run down Verne's face silently as she walked to wherever they were parked at, this time on the main road. She walked slightly ahead, Jessica giving out directions if they needed to turn. The tears blurred Verne's vision so much and her gaze was glued to the sidewalk that she didn’t even know she had run into somebody until it was too late. The arms steadied her. 

“Woah there…Verne?”

Verne tore her eyes from the ground and looked up to see Jacob’s face full of concern. He was with his dad and another father-son duo she didn’t recognize. For once, Billy Black’s face wasn’t full of complete disdain.

“Are you okay? Verne, what happened?” 

Jacob looked at the drying tear stains on her face. He looked over her shoulder to see Jessica and Angela behind her. 

“She wouldn’t tell us,” Angela offered the best explanation to Jacob that she could. 

Jacob nodded. “I got her, if you guys were doing anything don’t worry about it.”

“Oh we’re done. We were just gonna take her home.”

“I got that covered.”

Angela and Jessica came up behind Verne rubbing her back. 

“Is that okay with you, Verne?”

The girl nodded slightly. 

“Okay, we’ll see you at school. Alright?” They patted her back before continuing the walk to Jessica’s car.

“Oh um, this is Seth and his dad Harry Clearwater.” Jacob introduced the other members of his party. “We were gonna get ice cream, do you think you’re down?”

Verne and Seth sat on the concrete outside the ice cream parlor as Jacob and the dads went in. Seth was a great distractor, talking about whatever he found interesting and never staying on a single topic. He talked enough for the two of them. Jacob came out with ice cream for him and Seth and a milkshake for Verne. He plopped down onto the sidewalk on the other side of the girl while Harry and Billy stayed inside. 

“Are you up for talking?”

“Maybe after I finish the milkshake,” Verne said picking at the straw before putting it to her lips. 

Jacob muttered a small okay and she rested her head on his shoulder as Verne sipped on her drink.


	4. Chapter 4

Verne shook the empty cup of her milkshake, frowning a little. She removed her head from Jacob’s shoulder. 

“Did I mention how I came to the Cullens?” she asked, looking at him from the corner of her eye. 

“No, I don’t think you did.” 

“My parents died in a car crash… my whole family actually. There were five of us. Two brothers, one older one younger.” 

“Oh my God, Verne. I’m so sorry.” 

“It’s, it’s fine. We were visiting family in Maine and some drunk trucker was on my dad’s tail and wouldn’t ease up, next thing I know our whole car’s flipped upside and then I’m suddenly in the care of Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Um, Edward was saving me and Bella from some douches and his driving was just a little too fast… I still get trauma from time to time. It’s nothing really, it’s stupid.”

“No, I don’t think that. I’m sorry you had to go through that. My mom died in an accident too, I get it."

* * *

“How are you?” The Cullen family asked when Verne walked in the house. 

Jacob had dropped her off at the edge of the woods and Verne kept all thoughts of him dropping her off away so Edward couldn’t hear and alert the family. Verne wasn’t really one to go hunting, preferring the blood bags Carlisle made, but catching a couple squirrels before entering the house helped push thoughts of Jake and his family out of her head and brought in nothing but hunting instincts. 

“Exhausted and I wish I could sleep.”

“Sorry sis, perks of being a vamp.” 

Emmett patted the empty spot in between him and Edward. Verne sat down before completely flopping, resting her head in Edward’s lap and feet in Emmett’s. Rosalie sat on the floor in front of Verne and she played with Rosalie's hair with her free hand. 

“What are we watching tonight?”

“Bollywood movie marathon. My choice,” Rosalie said. 

Coven nights like this were the only fun ones to Verne as a vampire. She didn’t like to be alone. What Verne really wished was that she could drift off to sleep and dream instead. But at least she had some sort of family around. 

* * *

Verne jumped back quickly as Bella’s truck suddenly backed up in the driveway. She was catching a ride with Bella at her insistence. Bella stuck her head out the window at breakneck speed. 

“Woah, woah, Bells. Is this revenge for not pushing you out of the way from Tyler’s van.” 

“Sorry! I thought I had the brake on.”

“No harm, no damage done,” she joked as she walked around to the passenger’s side. 

“Aren’t you cold?” Bella looked down at Verne's choice of dress, just a sweater and some shorts. 

“Eh, not really. Forks’ usually worse than this. Ugh, school is going to be so boring today," she said as she looked in the sideview mirror to apply mascara. 

“All my sophomore classes today, some grade training stuff I’m required to attend. Started to forget I wasn’t in your grade.”

“Think of it as a rest day, they only need you to take the subject tests to boost the sophomore classes average. Everyone knows your grade is the dumbest.” 

“Unh-unh, girl, don’t associate me with the rest of them.”

The two laughed. 

“At least the school’s making you guys pizza for lunch as compensation for your struggles, even if it kinda tastes like cardboard. Grab me a slice, will you.”

“No can do, Bells.”

“Hmm?”

“Jacob’s picking me up for lunch. We’re getting real pizza.”

“You two have been hanging out a lot recently.”

“Have we?”

“Yeah, you have. Is something going on between the two of you?”

“Between Jacob and I? I don’t know, we’re just friends. I don’t know, I just like hanging out with Jacob, kinda chill to have someone not from school you know… what?”

Bella had a smug smile on her face. “The fact that you’ve said his name multiple times definitely means something’s going on. Whether you see it or not.”

“Whatever, Bells. Anyway, lunch off campus so no pizza for you.”

“Hey um… are your siblings going to be at lunch today. Jess said when it’s nice out your dad…”

“Only if it’s really sunny.” Verne cut her off. “Weather’s alright today, so they should be there. Why?”

Bella’s thumbs drummed against the steering wheel and Verne watched her gulp as she pulled into the parking lot. Bella put the car in park and slumped back in her seat. 

“I, I…I know something’s going on with your family. And don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. Edward doesn’t say anything either. What’s going on?”

“Oh no, this is between you and my brother, Bella. Let me know how it goes. I’ve got some subject exams to take.” 

Verne swung her backpack over her shoulder and hopped out the truck. The subject exams bored Verne out of her mind. She finished along with the other smart kids in the grade, the small group of headed out of homeroom way earlier than how long Verne knew the other kids would be staying. Her phone vibrated in her back pocket, Verne didn’t look as she answered with a bored “hello” while making her way to the front office to sign out.

“You sound a little worn out, Loca. Seems like you need some energy. And your pizza delivery boy is waiting right outside one Forks High School.” 

“I swear you are honestly a life saver right now,” Verne cheerily greeted the boy holding a large to-go box of pizza. 

“Freshly made by Max with an extra fluffy crust I heard you liked.”

“This is exactly what I needed, Jacob.” 

“You can just call me Jake you know… Is that your brother and Bella?” Jake looked past Verne. 

She followed his gaze to see Bella following Edward up a hill into the forest. “Yeah, there’s something going on I guess. I don’t get Edward sometimes.”

Jacob nodded absentmindedly. “Well let’s eat before the pizza gets cold.” 

Jacob pulled his car off to the side of the main road that led into Forks. He parked far enough that half the car was on the edge of the forest line so any random cars could pass with no problem. The two got out of the car and sat on the front hood, the pizza box in between them. 

Jacob took off his jean jacket and placed it over Verne's bare legs like a blanket, assuming she was cold which if Verne were human would probably be correct. She watched as he took her spare scrunchie from around his wrist and pulled his hair back before digging in, the action made her smile a bit. 

* * *

“Wait wait so it’s you, Jared, Quil, Embry, and baby Seth.” 

“Yeah, those are the boys,” Jacob said taking a bite of pizza. 

“And you idiots really dared Quil to enter into the Little Miss Washington Pageant?”

“What? His cousin was sick, couldn’t let all that hard work on her dress go to waste. Quil loved it, the costumes not the performing for other people. Never forgave us for forcing him on stage.” Jacob couldn’t stop laughing. 

“I wouldn’t either, you guys are mean!” Verne tried to scold but was also laughing. 

“How were we supposed to know about the stage fright?” 

“You’re friends sound crazy.”

“I’ll have to introduce you to the rest at some point. And Seth’s been nagging my ear off to hang out again when you aren’t so sad.”

The two heard the quick whoop of a siren and then a car stopped in front. 

“Hi Chief Swan,” Verne greeted the officer as he stepped out the cruiser. 

“Verne. Jake. Don’t you two kids have class?” 

She waved a pink slip from her back pocket. “Sophomores had subject tests today. Finished early. I’m off-duty, Chief.”

“Right, you take a lot of advanced classes don’t you. Alright, Miss Cullen you’re off the hook. What about you, son?”

“Res lunch runs long, Charlie. Just taking the lady out for a bite.” 

“Hope she’s not being a bad influence.” Verne rolled her eyes at Charlie’s joke. 

“Not at all sir,” Jacob joked. 

“Okay, kids. Have a good lunch. And Jacob? Get back to school after lunch. I’ll hold you accountable Laverne if he doesn’t.” 

She gave Charlie a mini salute as the police chief got back in his car and drove off. Jake jogged over to the back of his car and brought back a small bag that Verne hadn’t noticed before. 

“Seth’s mom, Sue, made cake for Harry’s birthday yesterday. Saved you a slice after you texted about lunch.” 

Jacob stood with his back to the car and untied the bag to reveal a small Tupperware container of strawberry cake with a fork. Verne dug into the cake practically moaning as she tasted it. 

“This is so good.” 

Verne had eaten a significant portion of the slice. Jacob moved from where he was leaning against his car to being right in front of her, placing his hands on either side of her on the car hood. Placing most of his weight one one hand, Jacob used the other to grab the fork from Verne and take a bite of the cake. He told the girl more stories about his childhood in La Push while she finished the cake. 

“I take it you liked the cake.” Jacob watched Verne gently place the Tupperware container next to her. 

“Tell Seth’s mom, I pay so many compliments to the chef. Man, I’m so much about the Res.”

“Maybe I could see about them making an exception for you. I think my dad’s slowly opening up.”

“My family, Jake… maybe,” she trailed off. 

Verne didn’t want to shoot Jacob down because she wanted to go into La Push herself but she also didn’t want to give him any false hope. She honestly could never see the elders giving a Cullen any exception, even one that had never touched a drop of human blood in their entire time of being undead. 

“Well we won’t know until I try right. Hey, Verne…” Jacob pulled back slightly before shifting his weight completely back to his hands. 

“Yeah, Jake?”

“I wanna try something.” Jacob leaned in until his lips were almost brushed against Verne's. “Stop me if you’re uncomfortable.”

Jacob waited a beat. When Verne didn’t make a move to stop him, he pressed his lips gently against hers before pulling away.


	5. Chapter 5

“Why are we doing this?” Rosalie unenthusiastically threw the bag of lettuce for the side salad onto the kitchen island. 

“Because it’s the first time Edward has brought over a girl, Rose,” Esme said, stirring the pasta sauce. 

“Is she even Italian?”

“Her name’s Bella isn’t it… come on babe, it’s a single dinner.” Emmett kissed Rosalie on the cheek to try and calm her down. 

Verne pulled the fresh bread from out of the oven and just rolled her eyes at Rosalie’s complaints. Esme slapped her hand away as she tried to tear off a piece of the bread and eat it. Verne let the bread be and grabbed a blood bag from the back of the fridge. Frankly, she was happy that Bella confronted Edward. Verne considered the Swan girl a real friend of hers. Everything was so much easier once she found out and when Edward and Bella went “public” last week. Verne heard Edward’s car pull up and a few moments later Bella and Edward entered the house. 

“Bella!” Esme called out. “How are you? We’re making Italian.” 

“Ah, Bon giorno,” Bella said awkwardly before giving Verne a comfortable smile when her eyes landed on her. 

“Molto Bene,” Esme said contently and went to combine the sauce and pasta in a single pot. 

“Don’t mind mom, Bells. She’s just excited,” Verne said to her friend. 

“Cooking for you gives us an excuse to use the kitchen.” Carlisle came out of his at-home office. 

“But I thought Verne…” 

“I mainly cook for myself,” she explained. 

“She only lets me make breakfast…sometimes,” Esme chimed in from behind the girl. “Did I go overboard with dinner? Hope you’re hungry, Bella.”

“Absolutely.”

“She already ate,” Edward said bluntly. 

Everyone heard glass crumble to the floor. Verne looked over her shoulder to see the glass bowl holding the salad in shatters at Rosalie’s feet. Her sister sighed heavily, clenching and unclenching her fists. 

“Perfect,” Rosalie said through tight lips. 

“It’s just I know you guys don’t eat.”

“She was trying to look out for us, Rose,” Verne said to her sister. 

“That’s very considerate of you.” 

Carlisle smiled at Bella. Edward moved his arm from Bella’s shoulder and to her waist. 

“Ignore Rosalie. I usually do,” he said. 

“Fine!” Rosalie yelled. “Let’s all pretend like this is all okay. Like this isn’t dangerous for us.”

“I promise I won’t tell anyone,” Bella said. 

Verne felt a bit bad for her friend. Rosalie knew that she wouldn’t tell. The whole family knew that she wouldn’t tell. Her sister was just giving her friend a hard time.

“She knows, the problem’s just you two have kinda gone public…”

“Emmett.” 

Esme cut him off. Emmett had a bad habit of just speaking, not realizing that most people would think he was trying to be mean and not just saying simply the first thing that came to his mind. 

“No, Esme. She should know,” Rosalie started. “The entire family will be implicated if this ends badly.” 

“Badly as in… I would become the meal.”

Verne couldn’t stop herself from obnoxiously laughing. 

“No one’s gonna eat you Bella. There’s a lot more to vampires but don’t worry about it. Rose is just being careful.” 

Jasper and Alice had finally come downstairs. She moved to stand next to Jasper, knowing he still had a hard time being around human blood. Especially blood as sweet smelling as Bella’s. As far as everyone knew, Verne didn’t have any powers but her very energy seemed to always help Jasper and the others control themselves from getting too overwhelmed. 

Verne looked down at her phone that had just buzzed while Jasper introduced himself. Her heart skipped a beat and she smiled at the phone before remembering where she was and tried to regain composure. Both Edward and Jasper whipped their heads to look at their sister, also causing the rest of the family to make Verne the new center of attention. She cursed the fact that her brothers had the powers that they did. Jasper could feel the extra happiness radiating off of her suddenly as well as some nervous energy he couldn’t quite place. Edward had only gotten part of a message but no name, no face. 

Verne was actively focusing on everything else that she could think of. Edward definitely wouldn’t drop this. Actually, none of her siblings would. Verne raced around the kitchen, thankful that Bella knew her secret so she could use vamp speed, and packed up the dinner in a couple Tupperware containers and put them in a tote bag. She also grabbed two sodas from the fridge to drop in the bag. 

“Can’t let good food go to waste,” Verne said, popping a few melon balls in her mouth. “Emmett, is the hardtop on the Jeep?”

“Yeah?”

“Perfect, I’m taking your car.” Verne tucked the loaf of bread under her arm and grabbed the bag of food. 

“Wait Verne, what?” 

“I’ll tell you later,” she mumbled to Bella who was looking at her with a questioning look. Her friend nodded and she walked out the house, refusing to give her family any explanation. Verne heard Bella try to offer an explanation for them saying something about it probably being Angela and Jessica. She blessed her friend for having her back without even hesitating. 

_**Welcome to Forks sign**_ , Verne texted before driving off in Emmett’s Jeep. 

* * *

“I’m so glad you brought a blanket! I honestly didn’t even think of that.” 

“Blanket and dessert,” Jacob said as he got out of his car. “Your brother let you take his car?”

Verne grabbed the blanket from him and threw it onto the roof of the Jeep parked right behind the ‘ **Welcome to Forks Washington’** sign. There weren’t many places in Forks itself that she and Jacob could hang out, especially under such short notice, that were considered neutral territory for both the Quileutes and the Cullens. But she figured the sign was good enough. Of course, Jacob just thought it was to avoid both of the families causing a scene. 

“Eh, I more told him I was taking the car. And he doesn’t know what for.”

Verne climbed up onto the roof of the Jeep, Jacob following her up. They both opened up their respective bags and prepared their dinner picnic date. Verne pulled out the small present from the bottom of the tote bag and shoved it in Jacob’s hands. He looked at you, questioningly. 

“I heard from a little birdie that I missed your birthday.”

“And by little birdie, you mean Seth.”

Jacob smiled knowingly. Verne hadn’t met Jacob’s other friends, he was still waiting for a good time, but she had hung out with Seth quite a few times. Birthdays had come up randomly over text one day and Seth let it all slip out. 

“In your defense, my birthday was before we met.” 

“Yeah if only my dad had finished those files a few days earlier,” you joked. 

Jacob opened the present, smiling as he took out the gift. It was a scrunchie pack. 

“I’m sick of you stealing mine.” She motioned to the purple scrunchie around Jacob’s wrist that he still hadn’t given back. 

Jacob laughed as he pawed through the scrunchie colors. He picked out a black sparkly one and put it around Verne's wrist instead of handing back the original one he took. 

“There’s also something else at the bottom.” 

The second gift was the real one and the one that made her the most nervous. They hadn’t been on many dates, nothing was really discussed about the status of your “friendship”, and he had only kissed you that one time during lunch. Maybe the gift was too much, you started to worry. 

“Oh wow, this is cool.” Jacob pulled out the braided leather bracelet. “It kind of looks like the ones that Mr. Harrow makes. He’s…”

“The bookshop keeper. Yeah, I bought it from him.” 

Mr. Harrow ran the bookshop where Bella bought the Quileute Legends. Mr. Harrow might have been Quileute but he wasn’t from any of the wolf lines. Not only did he not smell like one but he seemed to have no clue who Verne or her family were when she went in to buy the bracelet. 

“Thanks Verne. Outsiders don’t really buy Res gifts for us. This really means a lot.” Jacob smiled at Verne and she returned it. 

“So when’s your birthday? Don’t think I’m not getting you anything,” Jacob said as the two of them dug into the food. 

“Summer, June 12th.” 

The two of them ate everything. Verne was responsible for almost the whole loaf of bread by herself. They cleared everything but the blanket from off the roof, placing it in the passenger’s seat of the Jeep. Jacob laid down and Verne joined him as the two looked at the night sky where the stars had come out. 

He was listening to Verne tell stories about her old life in California, the girl was careful to leave out anything that would date her older than she appeared. Verne lifted her head from Jacob’s chest when she heard his heartbeat slow. He had fallen asleep. Verne put her head back down and just listened to the quiet yet noisy world around them. Jacob would wake up at some point. 

“How long were we out?” Jacob asked when he finally stirred. 

“No clue,” Verne acted like she had just woken up as well. “But we should probably get back before either one of our family’s sounds any alarms.” 

* * *

“So he kissed you!” Bella said excitedly. Verne was sleeping over at her house that night. 

“It’s only been one time Bella.”

“But he kissed you?”

The girl nodded. She mimicked what Jacob did and both her and Bella laughed. Bella couldn’t imagine the kid she grew up with pulling a move like that. Verne felt comfortable telling Bella anything to do with Jacob because of the fact Edward couldn’t read her mind. It felt nice to share with someone. Sometimes she debated telling her family, especially with Edward and Bella being an item. But at the end of the day, there was no confirmation Jacob would stay fully human and dealing with that was something Verne didn’t feel like arguing with her family about. 

Bella went to bed and Verne sat at her desk reading. All of a sudden Edward came in through the window, both Cullen siblings stared at each other in shock. 

“You forgot we were having a sleepover didn’t you?”

“I didn’t think you’d stay the whole night.”

Verne went back to reading before looking back up from the book to see her brother still there, sitting in the corner chair.

“Uh… do you do this often? You know… watch her.” 

Edward rolled his eyes. 

“Little weird, bro.” 

* * *

Edward picked up Verne and Bella from the Swan residence. Bella was joining their family for a baseball game. Esme put her arm around Bella when the three of arrived. 

“Bella, I’m glad you’re here. We need an umpire.”

“She thinks we cheat.” Emmett came jogging over.

“I know you cheat.” 

Esme wasn’t wrong. Emmett was definitely the biggest cheater when it came to playing baseball. Verne and Alice took turns being pitcher. The game went on for a while, Rosalie’s team winning by a couple points. Alice was up to pitch when she suddenly yelled out for everyone to stop. Verne watched from the woods as three figures came out. 

“They were leaving, then they heard us,” Alice said. 

“Get your hair down, Bells.”

“That won’t help, I can smell her from across the field,” Rose said, being absolutely no help. 

“I believe this belongs to you.” The vampire with dreads threw the baseball back to Carlisle. “I’m Laurent. This is Victoria and James.”

Carlisle introduced the family and made small talk with the three vamps. The hunting cases from earlier in the year were caused by them but they led Charlie’s team in a different direction from Forks. Verne was just glad Chief Swan had not gotten hurt, or anyone else on the police force for that matter. 

“Could you use three more players?” Laurent asked. 

“Sure, A few of us were just leaving. You can take their place. We’ll bat first.” Carlisle threw the ball back to Laurent. Victoria, the redhead, caught it before Laurent. 

“I’m the one with the wicked curveball.”

“Well I think we can handle that,” Jasper said confidently making all the vampires excited for a game. 

Verne and Edward moved to get Bella out when a gust of wind blew her hair in the direction of the new vampires. James caught wind of her sent. 

“You brought a snack.”

He stalked back towards Bella causing the whole team to crouch around her in protective stances. Laurent managed to call James off. Edward yelled out frustrated, running his hands frantically through his hair. 

“Crap. He’s a tracker and I set him off. My reaction… I just made this the most exciting game ever!”

“So what does that mean for us?” Verne asked Edward.

“It means he’s not gonna stop.”

“Alright, so we rip this son of a bitch apart and burn the pieces,” Emmett said nonchalantly. They all knew he was right. There was no other option.


	6. Chapter 6

Alice and Jasper called Edward as soon as they discovered Bella missing from her hotel room. Verne cursed herself for being so stupid, all three of them didn’t need to go to the front desk for some information. She should’ve stayed behind. She should’ve anticipated her friend being reckless and stupid. 

“We’ll find her,” Jasper tried to reassure. 

“It’s us finding her too late, I’m worried about.” 

When they finally found the correct ballet studio, Verne entered just in time to see James throw Edward into a mirror. James strolled over to Bella and bit her, causing the Cullen to spring into action and push him off of her. The rest of the family had shown up at this point. Emmet and Jasper went to handle James while Verne crouched near her friend. 

Verne knew James was a tracker, Laurent was very helpful in telling them that. What she didn’t realize was that he’d have the same speed as Edward who was the fastest in their household. He evaded her brothers, successfully flinging Jasper across the room as well. Verne was now the only thing in between James and Bella at this point. She stood up to better protect her friend. 

James reached for Verne's arm but she lunged at him. His only defense was to bite her and attempt to push her back like he did with Edward. Verne wasn't the strongest in her family and James’ tactic worked. Verne slammed into the mirror, in too much pain to move. She watched from her slumped over position as Carlisle coaxed Edward through sucking the venom out of Bella. She would still have to be taken to the hospital for the broken leg and probably a few other injuries Verne couldn’t see. The rest of the Cullens were putting out the fire they had set to burn James in. 

When the panic had died down and the smell of smoke subsided the Cullens suddenly became aware of the smell of the ballet studio. Carlisle’s face snapped up from looking at Bella to meet Verne's eyes. The rest of the family followed Carlisle. Bella’s blood wasn’t the only scent in the studio. So was Verne's. 

“Carlisle, what’s happening to her?” Edward demanded staring at the bleeding bite mark on her collarbone. 

“Do something!” Alice and Rosalie yelled. 

“I’ve never seen…” 

The Cullens were scared to get close. Carlisle had been a vampire long enough to know almost everything there was to know. If he couldn’t figure it out, there was a cause for concern. Verne wasn’t supposed to be able to bleed, no vampires were. Verne had finally snapped out of whatever pain she was in and stood up. Racing over to Bella and helping her up, Verne looked at the rest of her family. 

“Are we gonna get her to a hospital or what?”

When Bella was situated comfortably in the hospital, Carlisle insisted on he and Verne leaving so he could run some tests on her back in Forks. The rest of the family could join as soon as they made sure Bella was discharged from the hospital. 

Aside from the less amber color of your eyes and the dark circles, Verne were perfectly fine. Carlisle had her in one of the hospital beds at Forks Hospital. He had spent the better portion of two weeks running all sorts of tests. Of course the rest of the hospital stayed away, everyone was worried that something serious might be wrong with one of Dr. Cullen’s children. They wanted to give him some privacy if there really was a problem. No one dared even take a peek at her file. The only gossip was when they saw Carlisle carrying blood bags to Verne's room. What they didn’t know was that the bags were filled with animal blood and not for a blood transfusion. Her siblings had been visiting and Bella had dropped off any homework Verne had missed. 

“I don’t get it.”

“It’s fine, dad.”

“And you’re sure you feel okay?” 

Verne nodded. Carlisle looked back down at his clipboard and then up again, noticing the gold in her eyes finally coming back. He was the one to have turned Verne in Maine, none of these problems happened with the others. Carlisle thought maybe it was how he bit you, how the whole accident happened. Out of all the Cullens, Verne lost her family so young in her life that she actually called Esme and him ‘mom and dad’. He felt responsible if anything were to happen.

“Alright, can we just let this test result come in and if it’s clear you can go.”

“Okay,” you whispered quietly. “Then I can go home?”

“Two more days, V. I promise.” 

Verne nodded and laid back a little in the hospital bed. Carlisle sat on the edge of her bed, double checking all the tests that had already been run. Even though Verne couldn’t sleep, there was nothing else to do but close her eyes. So that’s what she did. Closed her eyes and listened to the hums of the hospital. The door to her hospital room opened. Verne opened her eyes to meet the brown ones of Jacob Black. Jacob hesitated a minute seeing Verne's dad, he expected none of the family to be there. He decided he didn’t care and walked towards her anyway. 

“Jake?”

“Verne, Bella told me you’ve been in the hospital.” Jacob sat down on the other side of the bed.

“Yeah, sorry I didn’t tell you. I lost my phone when we went to get Bella in Phoenix.” 

It wasn’t a lie. Somewhere in between the chasing and fighting, her phone had broken. 

“That’s not important. Are you okay?” 

“I’m good, Jake.” 

Verne felt a little uncomfortable using his nickname in front of Carlisle. She knew her dad wouldn’t say anything and would probably be supportive but if he knew it was only a matter of time till the rest of the family found out. 

“So, I guess the get better teddy bear was a premature gesture?” 

“What?”

Jacob pulled a teddy bear from his backpack. If Verne could blush she would’ve. He was really doing whatever this was in front of Carlisle. Verne took the bear and hugged it tight. Jacob laced his fingers in between hers, looking at where her hands connected. He suddenly turned to Carlisle who had been watching the whole scene unfold, very amused and happy for his youngest daughter. 

“Dr. Cullen?”

“Yes, Jacob.” 

“Verne and I have been hanging out for a while now since we’ve met; and I really care for her. I know there’s some let’s say family issues but I really like Verne. And if it’s okay with you… I’d like to date your daughter, sir. If she’ll have me, of course.” Jacob directed the last part towards her. 

“I think you’re a fine boy, Jacob.” Carlisle left the room after those words to give the two some privacy. 

“So, Verne?”

“Of course, I’ll be your girlfriend.” She sat up and leaned in to give him a kiss. 

Verne had finally been discharged from the hospital and was back at school. Naturally, everyone had questions for her but she assured them she was fine. After rejecting the fifth guy to ask her to the school dance that day, Verne joined her siblings in the cafeteria. The rest of them laughed in delight as she shot down everyone. 

Carlisle had kept good on his word to not think about Verne and Jacob around Edward and she made sure to do the same. No one but Carlisle and of course Esme knew what was going on. Rosalie wanted her sister to say yes to someone just so Verne could be at prom with them, since she wouldn’t get to go to prom with her otherwise, due to Rosalie and Emmett being seniors this year. Jacob even encouraged Verne to appease her sister when he heard about the fuss she was throwing about prom. 

Instead of prom, Verne was at Seth Clearwater’s house. She, Jacob, Seth, and even Leah were hanging out in the basement. Sue had no problem with Verne coming to their house, and whenever Harry wasn’t around or anyone else from the reservation, the Cullen would sneak over. They lived close enough to the edge of the reservation that if any passer-by were to catch Verne's scent it wouldn’t smell like it was coming from the res itself but from right across the street. 

Harry, Billy, and Charlie were on a weekend fishing trip so Verne comfortably hung out at Seth’s without worrying about having to leave at a moment’s notice. She and Leah were playing Just Dance on the giant tv in the basement while Seth and Jacob played pool. Despite being kind of bitter with most people, Leah didn’t mind Verne. The two of them actually hit it off quite well. Maybe it was because Sam Uley broke her heart, but she immediately sided with Verne against him and the elders’ rules about Cullens on their land and applauded her mom for letting Verne use their house as a hideout. 

Sue came downstairs to tell them that dinner was ready. Everyone knew breakfast for dinner was better than whatever they could be serving at Forks High School for prom. The four of them decided to have a movie marathon in the basement and fall asleep on the couches down there. Verne loved the idea because she would have the TV to entertain her while the others slept. Especially since she wouldn’t be able to move much with Jacob’s arm wrapped around her as the two of them cuddled on the couch. 

* * *

“I can feel the happiness from upstairs, Verne,” Jasper called to his sister downstairs. 

She tried to compose herself in the kitchen where she was having breakfast. Being with Jacob was becoming harder to keep from her family when all she wanted to do was let everyone know about the two of them. Summer just made things worse. There was no school to serve as a distraction to her siblings. 

“Ever had really good pancakes, Jasper? Like so good you could die… did they even have pancakes when you were alive?” Verne joked trying to focus his attention elsewhere.

“Very funny, ma’am.” 

Jasper came down and sat next to Verne. She slid her half finished cup of blood over to him. Verne may have been the closest with Edward but Jasper was the favorite. She was convinced that if Edward didn’t have powers to know exactly what was on Verne's mind, Jasper and Rosalie would tie for his spot as the best sibling. 

“And that happiness has turned to conflict?”

“I really wish you couldn’t do the whole feelings thing. Jasper, you can keep a secret right?” 

Her brother nodded. Verne figured maybe she could slowly ease the whole family into the idea of Jacob and after her parents, Jasper was the easiest place to start. Maybe Emmet and Alice next. Jasper followed his sister to the car. He kept quiet the whole ride to Seattle. He could sense a lot of nervous energy radiating off of her, this was really weighing on her mind. 

“Verne!” Her boyfriend called over from where he had parked in front of the coffee shop. 

“Jake!” 

Verne got out the car, barely putting it in park. She ran over to Jacob giving him a big hug. She felt him shiver slightly at the cold touch but he never said anything about it. Jacob leaned in for a kiss, hesitating slightly seeing Jasper step out the car. Jacob greeted Jasper and stuck out a hand to shake. 

“Hey, how are you?”

“Verne?” 

Jasper focused his attention back to his sister. She wanted to shrink up then and there, maybe this was a bad idea. 

“I’ll get the coffees,” Jacob said. “Do you want anything man?”

“No I’m good,” Jasper said. 

Jacob kissed the top of Verne's forehead and headed inside to get drinks, leaving her and Jasper alone. 

“Really? Jacob freakin’ Black.” Jasper looked at Verne like she was crazy. “Does anyone else know?”

“Carlisle and Esme. And The Clearwaters... not Harry.”

“Billy?”

“No.” 

Jasper sighed. Like he said earlier, he could feel the happiness that radiated off of Verne. And now he knew that Jacob was the cause. Jasper wasn’t going to be the one to ruin anything. 

“La Tua Cantante?”

“Not quite. His blood doesn’t sing to me at all but I can’t but be pulled to him.” 

“Be careful with your feelings, Verne. Blood singers and mates can be tricky. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Jasper gave his sister a hug as Jacob came back out with the coffee. The same happiness that came off of her came off of him as well. Jasper just smiled at the two. He took Verne's car back to Forks, figuring Jacob would drop her off or maybe they wouldn’t be home that night anyway. 

“Don’t forget, we’re celebrating your birthday tomorrow. Be home by the morning at least.”

“Bye, Jasper.” 

“I thought your birthday was today?” Jacob asked. 

“It is. I just knew that we’d be doing something so I told them I already had plans.” 

Verne followed wherever Jacob was leading her to. The perks of spending her birthday in Seattle was that there was a lot more to do. Jacob wanted to have a Verne day. 

“My sisters used to love doing this for their birthdays.” He escorted her into the nail salon. 

Verne got her nails painted in blue. It took a lot of talking from her and the nail lady but they convinced Jacob into getting matching nails. Verne was enjoying her birthday, Jacob was taking her around his favorite places in Seattle. She took pictures with him wherever they stopped, even asking strangers to take polaroids of the two. Verne smiled as she looked through the pictures but was also upset that she wouldn’t be able to display them in her room at home.


	7. Chapter 7

Summer ended quicker than anticipated. Verne hadn’t let anyone else in the family know about her and Jake. The addition of Jasper did make it easier to walk around everyone. Her brother did everything in his power to help and cover along with Carlisle and Esme. 

Verne came to school with Bella that morning. She wasn't focused on whatever Bella and Edward were talking about. It wasn’t until she heard Edward mutter something under his breath that Verne looked up. She had to stop herself from smiling when she saw Jacob and he had to stop himself from doing the same. 

“Woah, have you been working out? You know anabolic steroids are really bad for you,” Bella said to Jacob, making him laugh. 

“Maybe if you hung around more over the summer the change wouldn’t have seemed so dramatic, Bells. I heard it was your birthday.” 

He held up a dreamcatcher for her. Jacob smiled at Verne when he noticed Edward had walked away, sulking. Jacob gave her a wink before he sped off on his motorcycle to get back to his school. 

“Why does Jacob Black get to give you a present and I don’t?” Edward asked Bella as he came back. 

“Oh whatever, Edward.” Verne rolled her eyes and walked away. 

* * *

“Verne!” Your friends greeted you at lunch. 

“Live and in the flesh. I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

Jasper, Alice, and Edward started joining Verne and Bella’s table now that Rosalie and Emmett were out of school. 

“Romeo and Juliet essay due today,” Jessica said poking a fork in her salad. 

“Just finished it yesterday,” Bella said. 

“Same, it was so hard but the play itself was not bad. What about you, Verne?” 

“Hmm? Not my favorite Shakespeare work. I just don’t think it’s necessary to be like that. Everyone calls it a love story but it’s a tragedy Shakespeare says himself. There’s nothing to love about two people who can’t be together just because of the stupidity and hubris of their so called loved ones that surround them. It’s obnoxious. And faking your death just to be with your love? It’s awful they had to resort to that only for it to get even worse. It’s the epoch of Murphy’s Law that we’ve all come to understand as some love to aspire to but why can’t we talk about the toxicity of everyone around them.” 

“Woah… okay, I take it you’re a Macbeth fan more,” Mike said. 

“Uh… yeah.” 

Verne sat back realizing the meltdown she just had. Bella looked at her, understanding what was going on in her mind. Jasper placed a hand on his sister's knee, trying to use his powers to calm her down but without thinking about it and alerting Edward. 

Edward just looked at her amazed. The last time he saw Verne that heated over a piece of literature was when the two of them argued over the metaphors in _Catcher in the Ry_ e and just because he knew Salinger didn’t mean Edward’s perspective was correct. 

* * *

Bella came downstairs in one of Alice’s dresses. She didn’t want a party but everyone knew Alice wouldn’t let it go. Verne went to hug her friend and tell her happy birthday when a flash went off. Verne turned Bella to pose for the camera in Alice’s hand. She forced Bella’s hand on her hip and did the same pose. 

“I found it in your bag. Hope you don’t mind.” 

“Dating an older woman? Hot.” Emmett joked to a very un-amused Edward.

Emmett took that as cue to mention his present to Bella. Esme and Carlisle handed Bella their gift. Verne already knew what it was, she thought the plane tickets were genius. Bella went to open the envelope when she hissed slightly. 

“Ow… paper cut.” Bella shrugged and went to suck the blood off her fingertip. 

Verne watched the drop of blood hit the floor as Bella moved her finger towards her mouth. She felt Jasper tense beside her. 

“Jasper, no!” Verne yelled as she attempted to stop her brother. 

Jasper couldn’t help himself and he pushed Verne out the way to get to Bella. Edward, in trying to protect Bella, flung her into a wall making her hit a vase and causing more blood to spill. Once Verne was back on her feet, she grabbed her brother. He almost instantly calmed, he was still very overwhelmed but had less of an urge to kill Bella. 

“Verne, can you clean this up while I tend to Bella?” Carlisle asked. 

The girl nodded. Having never tasted human blood in her life, she had the same amount of control that Carlisle did. Verne wondered if maybe that was her power, extreme self control like her dad.

“We have to leave,” Edward announced after he came back from dropping off Bella. 

“What?!” 

“Edward’s right,” Rosalie said. “After tonight, it’s clear Bella isn’t helping this family.”

“Maybe we should think about this a bit.” Esme offered from her place on the couch.

“We need to leave.” 

“No!” Verne stood up from the couch. “We can’t just leave because of an accident with Bella.”

“It was more than an accident. Besides, Carlisle is supposed to be ten years older than he looks. People are starting to notice, V.”

“Oh that’s bullshit, Edward. No one notices anything strange about dad except that he’s the hot doctor. It’s about you and Bella but it’s not fair for the rest of us.” She ran her hands through her hair. No one but Jasper and their parents knew why Verne felt the way she did. 

“We do this all the time, Verne. I know you’re not really used to moving around like we are but it was coming again at some point. Does it matter if it’s now?” Edward asked. 

“I have people here too, Ed. What are we supposed to do about them?”

Rosalie gave her sister a sympathetic hug. “Aww, babe, this is why I didn’t want you to become close to the humans at school. I know it’s hard to leave your friends but you’ll get used to it. It’ll be okay.” 

* * *

“So they’re just packing up and going?” Jacob asked. 

Verne was in the Clearwater’s basement, sitting in Jacob’s lap. 

“Just packing up and leaving.” 

“That’s such bull,” Leah said entering the basement. She handed out the chicken sandwiches she had gone out to go buy. 

“That’s exactly what I said. I don’t really have a choice in the matter either.” 

“Not even a little say?”

“No offense, Verne, but your family kind of sucks.”

“None taken Seth. My parents and Jasper are the only ones on my side.” 

Jacob kissed her shoulder. “What does this mean for us?” 

“I don’t want it to mean anything. We could still try to make it work, I could see about visiting when we finally settle down.” 

“Where are you moving to?”

“They don’t even know!” 

* * *

Verne snuck out into the woods of Alaska to FaceTime her boyfriend and best friend. She had been texting Jacob for a while but kept her distance from Bella at Edward’s request. After hearing about the depression it sent her through from Jake, Verne couldn’t ignore her any longer.

“Jake, Bells. How are you!” She greeted cheerily as their faces appeared on the screen of the phone. 

They were in Jake’s garage working on the bikes again. Verne practically yelled at Bella through the phone for buying those stupid bikes. But she was insistent so Verne dropped it. The only relief she had was the fact that Bella promised to take them to Jake to fix. Jake set his phone up to lean against the toolbox so Verne could still see him and Bella while he worked on the bikes. 

“Your hair got longer.”

“Yeah, ends need trimming though. Still using the scrunchie pack you bought.” 

Verne could see the purple scrunchie around Jacob’s wrist as he tightened some bike part with a wrench. 

“You know he wears it on his wrist all the time. Probably showers with it on,” Bella joked. Jacob lightly shoved her as the two girls laughed. 

“Alright, alright. It’s so funny.”

“How’s Alaska, Verne?” Bella asked. 

“Boring. People here aren’t nearly as cool as everyone back in Forks. I actually miss the rain.” 

“Well you’ll get plenty of that when you come down during Spring Break, Verne,” Jake responded.

“I’m so ready.” 

“Are you gonna be the only one coming down?” She could hear the hurt in Bella’s voice. 

“Sorry, Bells. It’s just me. Edward actually left a week ago. I don’t know where he is.”

Verne suspected that maybe she had let something about talking to Bella cross her mind and Edward heard it. She watched Bella get up and suddenly the music on the radio turned off. 

“That song was good, you don’t like it?” Jacob asked. 

“I don’t really like music anymore…kind of.” 

“Okay, no more music.” 

Verne pulled out some work from her backpack and a snack. She had started letting Esme cook more when they moved. Esme had made her a cinnamon bun. She pulled out the dessert and a thermos of blood. Verne never really cared about the type of cup but whenever she was talking to Jacob, she had to make sure nothing was clear. 

“Do you guys even do anything besides fixing the bikes?” 

“She’s right, we should probably squeeze in some homework too if we’re going to be doing this everyday. Wouldn’t want Billy thinking I’m a bad influence on you,” Bella said.

Jacob gave a short laugh. “You? An influence on me? Please it’s the other way around if anything.” 

Bella looked at her friend for support. 

“Bells is older, Jake. That kind of makes her the influencer and you the influencee.”

“Nope.” Jacob shook his head. “My size and knowledge base actually make me older than you because of your, you know, general paleness and lack of know-how.”

“Don’t you think that makes you funny, young and naive?” Bella retorted. 

“Ok fine. Babe?” Jacob turned to his girlfriend. “Where do the two of us stand?” 

Verne swallowed the bite of the cinnamon bun. “Hmmm. Bells is like 35 and I’ll put you at 32.”

Jacob clicked his teeth. “Oh come on… Well at least I’m older than you.”

“Oh no I’m at fifty-seven,” she half-joked. 

“What?”

“And eight months.” Verne took a sip from your thermos. 

“I’ll concede to that,” Bella said, sharing a knowing smile with Verne. 

Of course the truth to the joke went over Jacob’s head. Bella quickly motioned for Verne to wipe at a drop of blood that had spilt on her bottom lip. She swiped it away before Jacob could look up from his work. 

“Okay babe, fifty-seven.” Jacob gave up. 

“And eight months,” Verne said quickly. 

“And eight months,” he sighed. 

Verne smiled brightly causing Jacob to smile as well. The three friends continued talking while Jacob fixed the bikes. 

“Yo, Jake, you in there?” A voice called from outside the shed. 

“Sounds like Embry. Sorry, Verne, I’ll get rid of him as soon as I can,” Jake said. 

“It’s okay, I’ll just put myself on mute. Do what you gotta do. It’s not like Alaska’s going anywhere.” 

Verne muted her end of the line just as Jake’s friends entered the garage. Everyone besides Seth’s family still didn’t know about the two of them. 

“Hey. Bella, this is Embry and this is Quil.” Jake introduced his friends. Bella gave them a small wave. 

“So the bike building story was true,” Quil said. 

“What about the part where you’re his girlfriend?” Embry asked. 

“What?” All three of them said at the same time, of course no one could hear Verne. 

“We’re just friends,” Bella said more to assure Verne than to correct Quil and Embry. 

“Ooh burn!” Embry laughed. 

“I never said she was my girlfriend.” 

“Seth’s house? Last week, you said you were talking to your girlfriend when your phone rang and we were downstairs and then you were building bikes this weekend. Sound about right?”

“Shit,” Jake mumbled, he didn’t mean to let it slip that he had been on the phone with Verne. “Bella wasn’t the girl on the phone.”

“I can pull up my call log and prove it if you want,” Bella said. 

Embry turned to Quil. “So if it wasn’t Bella… do you think he has a girlfriend?” 

“Nope. Not at all.” 

“Wow, we didn’t peg you as a liar Jake.” Embry held a hand over his heart, faking hurt. 

Jacob rolled his eyes. Normally it would annoy him but anything that threw Embry and Quil off their tracks. 

“So you both have girlfriends then? That’s awesome,” Bella said, making Verne and Jake laugh. 

“Right, actually Quil’s taking his cousin to prom,” Jake teased his friend. 

“Yeah, that’s a riot, you want funny Black? I’ll give you funny.” 

Quil tackled his friend. They were messing around. Embry laughed and started walking over to Bella. Bella quickly put the phone face down and now Verne was staring at a black screen. 

“I’ve got five bucks on Quil?” Embry said. 

“Oh you’re on.” Bella shook his hand. 

When Jake finally got his friends to leave, Verne continued talking for a bit longer before she thought it would be best to go back home. She said bye to Bella and Jacob, blowing a kiss to her boyfriend. Rosalie and Alice were in the living room when Verne got back home. They both looked at their sister with devilish smiles. 

“Would you hate us if we said we bought a bunch of stuff for you to try on?” Rosalie asked in the most gentle voice she could. 

Alice and Rosalie loved everything about Verne's look. From her skin tone to her hair to body proportions, they saw their sister as such a little doll. Verne had gotten used to over the years being their mannequin. Getting dressed up and posing for photos was something she did for them at least once every few months. 

“Take me away. I am but your puppet,” Verne joked as she held her arms out for them to lead her upstairs.


	8. Chapter 8

Jake’s phone was once again perched on the toolbox so she could see him and Bella. The bikes were supposed to be finished that day and they were gonna go test them. Verne said she wanted to see so she dragged herself out to the woods to FaceTime. 

“Quil keeps asking to come over, I think he likes you a little too much,” Jacob told Bella. 

“Oh, well I’m not really into the whole cougar thing, you know?” 

“What’s with you and age? I mean how old was that Cullen guy?”

“Um, my brother has a name, Jake.”

He mouthed a ‘sorry’ to Verne. 

“He’s right Bella, don’t be too hung up on age. It’s just a number.”

“A number that keeps going up,” she retorted. 

Verne knew how Bella felt about ageing and looking older than Edward. Verne didn’t like it. She wanted her friend to live her fullest life as a human. Being a vampire wasn’t something Verne enjoyed and if she could take it back she would. Not that Verne wasn't grateful to Carlisle but if it hadn’t been life or death, she would never willingly take this life. 

Jake held the phone in his hand while Bella drove her truck to an area for them to test the bikes. 

“Is that Sam Uley?” Bella asked as she drove along the bridge. 

Jacob scoffed. “Yeah. Him and his cult.”

“Oh my God!” Verne heard Bella yell. The truck abruptly stopped. “Did you see that?”

Jacob started laughing and the picture on Verne's end was very blurry as his body moved. 

“They’re not fighting Bella, they’re cliff-diving. It’s scary as hell but a total rush! Most of us jump from the lower cliffs. Leave the showing off to Sam and disciples.” 

Jacob walked back to the truck. He and Bella sat there watching them for a minute, Jake turned the phone around so Verne could see as well. 

“Is there some kind of beef with them or something?”

“Not really, they just think they run this place. Embry used to call them hall monitors on steroids, now look at him.” 

Jake had told Verne about Embry a couple days ago. 

“That’s Embry? What happened to him?” Bella asked. 

“Missed some school, all of sudden we see him following around Sam like a lost puppy. Same thing with Paul and Jared. And Sam keeps giving me these looks… like he’s waiting for me or something. It’s starting to freak me out.”

“Well, just try to avoid him if you can.” Bella started up the engine and continued driving. 

“I try,” Jake said.

They had finally arrived at the location. Jacob handed the phone to Bella for a minute as he effortlessly took the bikes from off the truck bed. Jacob took the phone back and explained to Bella how to work the motorcycle. 

“You got this, Bells!” Verne cheered for her friend as Jacob stepped aside to let Bella go. 

Verne and Jake were watching as she started off. It was going well until something happened that caused Bella to slam into a rock. She was thrown from the bike and hit her head. Jake ran over to go help her. Jake set down his phone and took off his shirt to dab the blood from Bella’s head.

“Geez. Bella are you alright?” 

Bella picked up the phone so Verne was no longer in the grass. “I’m okay, I promise.”

“For my sake, can you two do something a little less dangerous. Like watching movies.” 

Both Bella and Jake laughed. “Movies, understood.” 

* * *

When Jacob answered his girlfriend's phone call he looked like a hot mess. He answered with a very groggy hello. His hair was stuck to his face and he was really sweaty. Jacob sat up a little in his bed so he could talk to her. 

“You look a wreck.”

“Thanks, babe.” 

“Are you alright? Bella told me about the Face Punch incident. Who names a movie Face Punch, anyway?” 

Jacob pushed his hair out his face. Something about him looked different but Verne wasn’t sure what. 

“Yeah, I don’t know what happened. And now I’m sick. It feels like my whole body’s on fire and I’m tired all the time.”

“Should I get off the phone, then?”

“No, no stay. Show me around, what are you up to in Alaska?” 

Jacob got up to make himself some food while Verne was packing up her car before heading into a different store. 

“Ooh, look!”

Jacob laughed as Verne excitedly showed him the husky dog by her leg. Carlisle adopted the dog for her when the whole family noticed she was kind of lonely in Alaska. Of course Carlisle couldn’t pass on the opportunity to make fun of her by picking the breed that most closely resembled a wolf. The husky, who was trained off leash, barked when Verne turned the phone around so she could see Jake. 

“You got a dog.”

“Yeah, named her Dakota. Koda for short.” Verne walked with Koda into the store to grab snacks. “Woah, Jake. Got enough to eat there?”

She looked at the massive sandwich on his plate. Jacob shook his head as he emptied the bag of chips into his mouth and took the sandwich back to his room. 

“What are you shopping for?”

“Some of our cousins from around Denali are coming into town to hang out. We’re going to picnic by the river. I’m on snack-duty… well, I’m really supposed to be picking up a badminton set. The snacks are for me.”

“Is that your boyfriend?” The old woman at the check-out counter asked. 

Verne nodded and turned the phone so Jacob could say hello to the lady. They both blushed as she said they seemed like a good couple while bagging the snacks. Verne thanked her and headed out the store, Koda right next to her. The two continued to talk as Verne drove over to the river. The only people there at the moment were her cousins, her parents and Jasper. 

“The others are coming in a little bit. I think Edward’s actually gonna be here too.” Jasper came bounding up to you. “Hello, Jacob.”

“Hey, man.”

Verne followed her brother to where the rest of the family was. Esme and Carlisle greeted Jacob and her cousins were intrigued by her new boyfriend. It was so easy for Verne to show him off to them. Having never spent a day in their lives in Forks, the Denali Clan had never seen Jacob before and had no clue about the Quileutes. 

Verne set the phone down on the rocks and peeled off her dress to reveal a bathing suit underneath. She could hear Jacob cough slightly. Verne picked the phone back up to see him swallow the last bite of his sandwich.

“That’s a nice bathing suit, V,” he said awkwardly. 

“Yeah?” she sat on a towel by the rocks. “I got it a couple weeks ago. I think it looks good. Red’s my color I’m pretty sure.”

Jacob nodded. “Red’s one hundred percent your color, babe.” 

Verne continued to talk to Jacob as her family hung around the river. Jacob’s eyes were starting to get heavy but he pushed through to keep talking to her. He was upset that lately he’d felt so sick he couldn’t keep up with Verne's calls. 

“Oh, Koda’s coming with me for Spring Break.”

“Yeah? I think she’ll like Forks.”

“I do too. Ugh, I can’t wait. Our anniversary is in, like, a week and then Spring Break.”

“I was thinking we have dinner over FaceTime and then I’ll really take you out when you come down?” Jacob laid back down in his bed. Verne looked up to watch Jasper push Irene into the water.

“Hmm, yeah… that sounds like a good idea. We should dress up for it. What are we gonna eat…Jake? Jake?” Verne looked back down at her phone. Jacob had fallen asleep. “Talk to you later. Sleep tight Jake. Love you.”

She hung up. The rest of the Cullen siblings, including Edward, had finally arrived. 

“I forgot you got a dog.” Edward gave Verne a hug. 

“Maybe if you visited more often, you would remember.” 

Verne and the rest of the Cullen siblings raced into the water. They spent the rest of the day just hanging out.


	9. Chapter 9

“Hey Jake, it’s me again. Bella said you cut your hair? And got a tattoo? Um I was just calling to say hi and see if we were still on for our date on Tuesday. It’s gonna be our anniversary, you know… do you still want me to come down for Spring Break?” 

Verne left the voicemail on Jake’s phone. It had been the fourth time she called and he hadn’t answered. When she talked to Bella the other day, she told Verne that Jake had been avoiding her too after the movies. Billy said it was mono but neither of the girls believed it. 

There was one possibility Verne already knew of but she didn’t want to think it possible. Not for someone like Jacob, he wouldn’t just ditch her. But Tuesday rolled around and Verne sat in her fancy dress waiting for a call that didn’t come. She changed into pajamas and went downstairs to get ice cream. Verne was eating the tub of pistachio ice cream when she heard her phone ring from upstairs. She raced upstairs and answered the phone at lightning speed. 

“Jake?”

“Laverne…” Jacob paused. 

“Jake?”

“Don’t, don’t call me again Verne.” Jacob’s voice faltered before he spoke up again but with more strength in his voice. “We can’t be together. I don’t think I can be, I can’t be with a leech like you.”

“You’re not serious?” 

“I’m so…” 

Verne heard Billy Black’s voice call his son’s name. 

“Just don’t call me again, Verne. We’re done, it’s probably best if you don’t come down for Spring Break.” 

Jasper felt his sister's entire mood shift from excited to overwhelming sadness as he entered the house. Something told him to come home early from hunting with everyone else and he thanked whatever it was. He raced to Verne's room as he saw her hang up the phone. Koda, who was at her feet, moved to put her head in Verne's lap. Jasper didn’t say anything but just gave her a hug. He was always worried about something like this. 

* * *

Verne came down for Spring Break anyway, Bella insisted. So Verne came down for her friend, booking a room in a small bed and breakfast near Port Angeles. Charlie insisted that she could stay at their house but Verne didn’t want to impose, knowing that Charlie didn’t always like to stay at home and she had a dog with her. Verne had enjoyed hanging out with her friend until Bella suggested confronting Jacob. She didn’t want to, Verne was still trying to get over him. 

“I’m serious Verne. It’s not cool, just ditching us like that. I’m not doing this with someone again.” Bella sat up more on her bed, running a hand through her hair. The action caused Koda to spring off the bed and lay back down on the floor.

“You know I’m not allowed on the res, right. The whole Cold Ones thing doesn’t blow over well with them.” 

“That’s no excuse. Nope.” Bella stood up and put on her boots. “We’re going, today.”

“Did you not just hear what I said? Earth to Bells?” 

Bella dragged Verne into her truck regardless. Verne stayed in the car, thankful that it still smelled like vampire from all the times Edward had been in it. She figured as long as she stayed in the truck and didn’t move a muscle, she’d be safe. Verne never imagined the day she broke the treaty would be for Bella and not Jacob. Verne waited in the car that Bella parked by Jake’s garage out of view for safety. She could hear Bella approach the main house. 

“I need to see him,” Bella said. 

“He’s not in.” Verne could hear the voice of Billy Black. 

“I’m sorry Billy, but I really need to see him.” 

It was dead silent after that and Verne assumed that Bella had gone into the house, her hearing was only so good even as a vampire. Verne stiffened as she heard multiple voices entering Jake’s backyard. She hoped Bella would hurry up. Even with the proper precautions, it was definitely dangerous to be on the reservation right now. 

“What did you do?! He didn’t want this!” Verne heard Bella yell. 

Verne could also hear the laughter of a bunch of boys. She wasn't sure how many but definitely enough for a pack, enough to rip her apart. 

“What did we do? What did he do? What did he tell you?” 

“Paul.” Verne heard another voice say. So the first boy must have been Paul. 

“Nothing!” Bella yelled. “He tells me nothing because he’s scared of you!” 

Paul started laughing, pissing Bella off. Verne could hear the sharp ringing of a slap and then growling. One of the boys told Bella to get back and all of a sudden Bella’s yelling for Jake to run. This might have been a death sentence but Verne wasn't about to let Bella get hurt by one of the wolves. She raced out of the car and to her friend who looked shocked to see her. Verne crouched over her friend protectively as Jacob leaped over the two of them, turning into a giant wolf as he did. 

“Are you okay Bella?” Verne asked. 

“Take Bella back to Emily’s place.” Now that she was there Verne could see who was speaking. Sam had given the command to Jared and Embry. 

“Don’t touch her,” Verne growled as she helped her friend to her feet. 

“You shouldn’t even be on our land, leech, you’re lucky we aren’t ripping you apart,” Embry said. 

“I only came because I heard Bella scream.” 

“We know, that’s why you’re still alive,” Sam spoke up.

“But how do I know she’ll still be alive when I leave?”

Jared laughed. “That’s rich coming from you, bloodsucker.” 

“Just get out of here Cullen,” Sam said. 

Upon hearing Sam say Cullen, Jacob stopped fighting with Paul and turned to look. Verne's eyes met Jake’s wolf. 

“You’re fucking kidding me,” Sam said. 

The others all turned to Jacob. Paul made a move towards Verne but Jacob was faster. He knocked her down on accident as he took a protective stance in front of Verne. His black claw scratched her as she fell, cutting deep enough to cause a little blood making Verne gasp in a little pain as she held your wrist. Now she knew what the rest of the family had been so scared about last year. Verne hadn’t seen it for herself until right now but there was the blood. And it was clearly coming from her. Verne knew she’d have to tell Carlisle when she got home. 

Jacob turned to Verne. A high pitched whine came from the wolf as he looked at her bloody wrist. He nuzzled at her hand as she stood up. Bella was by Verne's side in an instant. Jake licked at the wounds on her wrist, already feeling bad for the damage he caused. Paul growled and snapped at Jacob making him turn back around again, pissed. 

“I’m okay. I’m okay.”

“Both of you, Emily’s house,” Sam practically commanded.

Jared and Embry followed the girls to Bella’s truck. They gave her instructions as she drove to what they assumed was Emily’s house. When the group arrived, Jared and Embry jumped out of the truck. 

“Should we go back and see if Jake’s okay?” Bella asked. 

“Nah, let Paul sink some teeth in him. Serves him right,” Jared said. 

“You know he couldn’t help it man,” Embry said to his friend. “Come on in ladies, we don’t bite.”

“Speak for yourself,” Jared added, looking pointedly at Verne. 

“Yeah, well I can bite too.” Verne followed Embry towards the front door. 

“Oh. Emily, Sam’s fiance…don’t stare. It really bugs Sam,” Embry warned the girls. 

“Why would we stare?” Bella asked. 

Verne followed them into the house to see a dark-haired woman. She turned around holding a fresh hot pan of muffins. Verne could see the reason the boys said don’t stare. A giant scar of claw marks was running down one side of her face. It didn’t change the fact that she was beautiful, if anyone was staring it would be because of her looks first but Verne made sure not to look for too long like they said. She stayed behind Embry, relatively unseen, while Bella stepped a little further into the house. 

“Who are these girls?” Emily asked. 

“Bella Swan and uhh…”

“Verne,” she said filling in the gap for Jared. Verne purposely left out her last name and hoped neither one of the boys would rat her out. 

“Ah, so you’re the vampire girl,” Emily said to Bella. 

“So… you’re the wolf girl,” Bella said back. 

“Well, I’m engaged to one,” Emily laughed as she set the muffin basket down on the table. Jared and Embry were about to dig in when she slapped their hands. It reminded Verne of her and Esme’s interactions. 

“Hey! Save some for your brothers. And ladies first, muffin?” 

“Sure,” Bella said, picking up a treat. Verne didn’t touch anything, trying to make as little movement as possible. 

“Leave it to Jake to find a way around Sam’s gag order,” Embry said as he picked up a muffin. 

“He didn’t say anything to me,” Bella told him. 

“That’s a wolf thing. Alpha’s orders get obeyed whether we want to or not. And check it out, we can hear each other’s thoughts!” Embry explained excitedly. 

“Will you shut up?” Jared shoved him. “These are trade secrets, dammit. This chick runs with vampires. And this one…”

Verne gave Jared a look and he shut up immediately. 

“You can’t exactly run with vampires… cause they’re fast,” Bella said.

Verne laughed and gave the two boys across from her a smirk as Bella gave her a fist bump.

“Yeah? Well we’re faster, freaked out yet?”

“You’re not the first mind readers I’ve met,” Bella said nonchalantly. 

“Jake’s right.” Sam walked into the house strolling over to Emily. “You’re good with weird.”

Paul came in shortly after Sam. He sat down saying sorry to Bella and muttering a reluctant sorry to Verne. Paul was joking around with the others like nothing happened. She look at him incredulously, he was really joking around like he didn’t just try to kill her. Verne chose not to say anything and drew her eyes away. 

“He’s on the porch.” Paul noticed the girl looking towards the door. 

She made her way outside, hearing them mutter something about imprint, Cullen, and anger. Jacob stood up from where he was sitting on the porch.


	10. Chapter 10

Verne was overwhelmed seeing him. Jacob awkwardly scratched the back of his head, giving her a small smile.

“Hi, Verne.”

While she was happy to see him, she still had some anger. Actually, a good chunk anger. Verne figured out why he did it, on some fundamental level she understood. But feelings were still feelings. She pushed Jacob’s bicep. Months ago, her strength might have caused him to move but now he didn’t budge an inch. 

“Leech? Really?”

“Verne?”

“You couldn’t just break up with me?! You had to say that? You really had to call me that?”

Jacob grabbed both of her arms. “I had to make sure you wouldn’t try to speak to me. I’m so sorry.” 

“Answer me truthfully, Jacob.”

“Of course.”

“Did you mean it? Any of it, any of those words you said about me.”

“I swear I didn’t.” 

Verne saw her purple scrunchie still around his wrist. She gave Jacob a hug so she could hear his heartbeat better. 

“Say it again. Did you mean it?”

“I promise you, Verne. I didn’t mean a word of what I said.” 

Jacob’s heartbeat was steady and she didn’t think he’d be that good of a liar to keep his heart calm on purpose. Verne pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes. He had gotten taller while she was gone. Must have been turning into a wolf that gave him the extra height. Verne took the scrunchie off of his wrist. 

“You clearly don’t need this anymore,” she joked as she put her hair up in a ponytail. “Hurt me again and I’ll break your neck.”

Verne could hear faint laughter from inside. Even if the wolves didn’t like her they had to admit, Verne threatening Jacob was kind of funny.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Jacob led the girl back inside the house where she took a seat. Verne wanted to be more mad at him but she had already figured it out a couple weeks ago that he might not have meant it. At least that’s what she had hoped. Jacob still wasn’t sure how sensitive the two’s situation was and he desperately wanted to pull Verne into his lap but settled for placing an arm around her shoulder. 

“No offense, but Jake how can you stand the smell?”

“She doesn’t smell like anything to me. Do I smell to you?” Jake asked. 

“No, not really. It’s faint for the others but you… not at all.” 

“You know, now that you mention it,” Sam started. “You don’t smell as bad as the other leeches, it’s there but faint.”

Jacob growled as he felt Verne tense underneath him. 

“Sorry, force of habit,” Sam said. “Is bloodsucker off the table too?”

Verne shrugged. She never thought much of the term bloodsucker, the Cullen siblings would even teasingly call each other that.

“You hungry?” Jake asked her, grabbing a muffin. 

The other wolves watched curious as to what Jake was asking. They had no clue where his question was going. They watched Verne nod andJacob hand her his muffin while he grabbed the last one in the basket. Everyone was shocked as she bit into it. Verne gulped down the chocolate muffin. 

“Oh this is amazing. Esme would absolutely love this recipe.”

“Thank you,” Emily said. “There’s more in the fridge if you want another.” 

Verne raced to the fridge not even thinking about how that was a bad idea. Every wolf went into high alert. She bounced up and down watching the muffin spin in the microwave before racing over to give Emily a hug. Sam tensed up and Jacob was on edge, ready to stop Sam if he tried anything. 

“Thanks for the food.” 

Verne went back to get the muffin from the microwave and moved to sit by Jacob. She noticed him slump back down in his seat and everyone get calmer. It was right then Verne realized that she should keep her speed to herself. 

“Sorry. I’ll try not to run.” Verne shoved bits of muffin in her mouth.

“Is your wrist okay?” Jacob asked, looking at Verne's hand. 

“I’m fine.” She held up an already healed wrist. “It’s okay. The same thing happened last year.”

“But it’s not supposed to?” 

“No, Jake, it’s not.”

Jacob smiled hearing Verne use his nickname for the first time since she'd been there. The others groaned being able to hear his thoughts. As much as they thought they’d be okay with the imprint something about seeing it from Jacob’s perspective made them irrationally angry. It only got worse as Jacob kissed the spot on her wrist where the wound was. They could see in his mind some of their first few dates, including Seth’s house. 

“You snuck her over res lines before? Really Jake?”

“It’s not like I knew she was a vamp before.”

Embry shook his head as he got up to go to the fridge, “Man if she wasn’t your…”

“If she wasn’t my what, Embry? What would y’all have done?”

“Exactly what happens to the rest of them. And don’t act like you wouldn’t do the same man,” Jared said. 

Verne put her hand on Jacob’s chest and he stopped growling immediately. Everyone looked bewildered. He wasn’t even looking at Verne and he calmed down. 

“Is that the im…” Verne was sure Paul was about to say that imprint word she heard a few moments ago.

“No I don’t think so,” Sam cut Paul off. “Verne? Are you like the other Cullens?”

“Hmm?”

“Powers? Like your other family members?”

“No. I’m not a special one. Maybe extreme control like Carlisle but we’re not sure.” 

Sam just nodded. 

“Jake? What’s an imprint?” Verne asked as she finished the muffin.

Jacob choked on air. “Hmm?”

“I heard the others mention it. Something about imprint and anger.” 

The boys howled in laughter. 

“Go ahead, Black.” Jared instigated. 

“When a wolf imprints on someone… their eyes meet and he knows she’s the one. His other half,” Jacob started to explain. 

“Hmm? Love at first sight.” 

“It’s not like love at first sight, really. It’s more like… like gravity moves… suddenly it’s not the earth holding you here anymore, they do. You become whatever they need you to be, whether that’s a protector, or a lover, or a friend. You can’t help but feel a pull to them.” 

“Sounds like you know the feeling,” Verne almost whispered. 

Verne didn’t notice Jacob looking at her the whole time as he spoke, her eyes were cast down looking at the table. Jacob didn’t say anything he was trying to read the girl's facial expressions, every wolf was. Verne didn’t seem like she knew he was talking about her. The other wolves looked at Jacob questioning if he was going to say anything further. Jacob shook his head. He just got her back and he wasn’t going to freak her out by saying it was Verne. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he rested his head on top of hers. 

“It’s like La Tua Cantante.”

“Tua Cantante?” Sam asked. 

“Blood singer,” Bella broke it down for them. 

“Something about them draws you to them. They carry the sweetest scent in the world to you, it’s like their blood literally sings to you. You’d do anything to have them.” Verne melted into Jacob’s side more. 

“Sounds like imprinting.”

“It’s a lot less romantic,” she paused, the wolves looked at her a bit confused. 

“Your Tua should be your mate for life as a vampire, your absolute match above anyone else. It works if you are both vampires, you would never know the smell but the pull is undeniable. But if they’re human… not everyone has impeccable control like me and Carlisle.”

“You wouldn’t really?” Jared couldn’t even finish his question. 

“Their blood literally sings. For some they have to get a taste and once they start it’s hard for lots of vampires to stop.”

The wolves looked at Verne in shock. Jacob gripped her shoulder tighter as he read the thoughts of his pack members. They had no clue what a blood singer meant for Jacob. They didn’t know if Verne had a separate blood singer. He knew they were just trying to protect him but the thought of any of them trying to hurt her, he just couldn’t help it.

“I told you it was less romantic.”

“You sound like you know the feeling.” Paul took one for the team and tried to probe her brain for more. 

“I wouldn’t know.”

“How wouldn’t you know? Didn’t you say it’s the sweetest blood you’ve ever smelled,” Embry spoke up. 

“I can’t smell blood like that, any of it.”

“Is that even possible for a lee— vampire.” Embry corrected himself.

“If you haven’t noticed, not exactly a normal vamp. Blood doesn’t appeal to me like that. I need it to survive and that’s it. So I wouldn’t really know how normal blood smells versus a singer.” 

“You don’t wanna know?” Sam asked Verne. 

“It doesn’t bother me too much. I don’t think me not smelling their blood is gonna stop my singer from finding me. Like I said, they say the pull is undeniable.” 

They all watched as she looked up at Jacob as best as she could with her head resting on his. Sam nodded at Jake, confirming the young man’s fears were irrational. It seemed like she was talking about him. 

“We’re gonna have to rework the treaty. I take it the rest of your family will want to come back when you tell them you two are... whatever you are.” Sam was already ready to get back to business. 

“Do I have to tell them?”

“It’s up to you.” Sam shrugged. “I guess we’re working on your grounds now.”

“Maybe we can decide this later, it’s getting late.” Verne turned to Bella. “Charlie probably wants you home.”

“You’re right, we should go.”

“I’ll drop you two home.” Jacob stood up, ready to escort them out.


	11. Chapter 11

The drive to Bella’s house was silent until the truck pulled into the Swans’ driveway. Both Verne and Bella had been processing everything that just happened. 

“So… you’re a werewolf?” Bella broke the silence. The three of them sat in the truck. 

“Yeah, last time I checked. A few lucky members of the tribe have the gene. If a new vamp moves into town, the fever sets in,” Jacob said. 

“Mono?” Bella asked. 

“Yeah, I wish.”

“Did my family cause this?” Verne felt a bit guilty if this was her fault. 

“No, I don’t think so. A bunch of us didn’t start turning till you guys left. You’re probably responsible for Sam’s turning, though.”

“Can we maybe not tell Leah that? I’m not trying to be the reason why my friend’s boyfriend dumped her… especially Leah.”

Jacob laughed. “Lips are sealed.”

“You can’t find a way to stop? I mean it’s wrong,” Bella said. 

“It’s not a life-style choice. I was born this way; I can’t help it. You’re being such a hypocrite, Bells. Are we not the right kind of monster for you?” Jake’s voice raised a little. 

“It’s not what you are, it’s what you do. They’ve never hurt anyone. You kill people, Jake,” Bella said. 

“Wait, who’s killing people? Jacob, what’s going on in Forks?”

“We’re not killing anyone,” Jacob assured the two girls. 

“Then, who is?” Bella asked. 

“The only thing we do kill…”

“Us,” Verne said quietly. Jacob wouldn’t look at her at that moment. It was a fact he didn’t want to admit in front of Verne. 

“What?!” Bella exclaimed. “Jake, you can’t.”

“Not the Cullen’s, unless they violate the treaty.” 

“Not that, you can’t kill vampires, though. They will kill you,” Bella warns him. 

“You should be careful, Jake.” Verne added on. 

“Really? We took out the bloodsucker with dreads easy enough.”

“Laurent?” Bella asked. 

“And his redheaded girlfriend is next,” Jake said, nodding his head. 

“Vic— Victoria’s here?” Bella stuttered. Verne grew worried as well, if she knew how to contact Edward she would warn him. But all communication was conducted on her brother’s end. 

“Was,” Jacob said. “We chased her all the way to the Canadian border. But she keeps coming back; we can’t figure out what she’s after.” 

“Me.” Bella swallowed. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell Sam. We have this place covered.” 

The three of them got out of the truck and made their way up the porch steps. 

“Thanks Jake, I’ll catch you later. I’m gonna go order us a pizza, V.” Bella walked inside the house, leaving Verne and Jacob on the porch. 

Koda came bounding out the house before Bella could fully close the door. Jacob bent down to pet the dog. Koda lopped her head to the side, welcoming the scratches. 

“So, a husky?” Jacob smirked. 

“Yeah it was a joke. I don’t think Carlisle expected you to actually turn into a wolf.”

“So you knew this would happen?”

“Not really? Carlisle said wolves haven’t been seen amongst your tribe for years. The chances were slim.” 

Jacob just hummed in understanding and stood up. 

“Sam’s got me starting patrol but I could get some shifts off if you wanted to hang out.” 

“Yeah, sounds good. Just um… just text me when.” 

“Okay… I really am sorry Verne. For everything I said.”

Verne hated the awkward tension between her and Jacob. She just stood there holding her arms while Jacob scratched the back of his neck. Koda looked between the two of them, even she could feel the awkwardness. 

“I know, Jake. I forgive you.” Verne gave him a hug. Jacob gripped her tight like he was afraid to let her go. 

“I’ve got patrol now, I gotta go.” He reluctantly let go of the girl. “I’ll see you soon, V.” 

“Bye, Jake.” Verne gave him a kiss on the cheek, making him instantly smile. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Stop by the res anytime. Emily will be glad to have another girl around the house.” 

Verne nodded. She watched Jacob disappear into the woods completely before she and Koda headed inside the house. 

* * *

“I’ll admit the speed is something I’ll have to get used to but it sure is helpful,” Emily said as Verne finished cleaning the whole living and dining room before Emily could fully finish the kitchen. Verne had come over two days after she and Jake had the conversation on the porch. 

“One of the few perks to this whole walking dead lifestyle.” Verne tossed one of the cleaning rags in the air, catching it in the other hand.

“I thought those were zombies.”

“Are they?”

“I’m pretty sure vampires are the undead.”

“Hmm.” Verne sat down on the living room couch and turned on the television. 

“I thought Bella would be coming with you,” Emily said as she started on making lunch. 

“She said she had plans in the morning. Jake and I are gonna pick her and Koda up after lunch.” 

“You know you can bring your dog over anytime if you want.”

“Really? Thanks, Em.” Verne got up from the couch to help Emily with the sandwiches. 

“Sam said Seth and Leah both have a fever, happened right after Harry got the heart attack. We might have two more members.”

“Leah?” Verne asked. “I didn’t know girls could turn.”

“I didn’t either. I think she’d be the first.” 

“I’m glad they’ll join the pack, wish they were under better circumstances.”

“Me too. No one expected Harry to go, especially not so soon.” The two finished making sandwiches and rested on the couch. 

* * *

The boys mentally groaned as they walked into Sam’s house. Dealing with Sam and his imprint was bad enough, but now that there were two around it was too much love to deal with sometimes. They were glad Jared’s imprint Kim was off at college, having three around would seem nearly insufferable. They had to deal with the lovey dovey thoughts and looks Jacob and Sam gave from the doorway of the house as the two looked at Verne and Emily: wearing their hoodies, messy buns and face masks, painting their nails and laughing with each other. 

“Honeys, they’re home!” Paul announced loudly, making fun of Sam and Jacob. 

Verne and Emily looked over their shoulders. They both waved at the two men in the doorway. 

“Let the nails finish drying and we can go, okay.”

Jacob nodded and went to grab a shirt from the spare clothes closet Sam had in his house for the guys. Verne looked over at Emily. 

“You know I can make this dry really fast.”

“Does this involve anything vampire?”

“How do you feel about piggyback rides?”

Emily very tentatively got on Verne's back, careful to mind her nails. Verne warned her to close her eyes before she spun around at a crazy fast speed, minding not to go full speed. When Emily got down she took a few moments to steady herself and then tapped her nails. 

“Completely dry, color me impressed.” 

“You ready to go?” Jacob asked, coming back into the room. 

Verne grabbed his hand. “Yep, yep.” 

Verne and Jacob decided to take a walk on the beach, it would be her first time ever at La Push Beach. Most of the awkwardness was gone between them but it was like they were just meeting each other again for the first time. There was a new dynamic added with the whole werewolf element. 

“Jake?”

“Hmm?”

“Imprinting. When the others were talking about it…” Verne felt Jacob’s hand go stiff. “Have you, have you imprinted on anyone?”

Jacob looked down at the sand as the two walked. “If I told you yes what would you say?” 

“I would ask about her. Who she is, does it really feel like how you described it?” 

Jacob stopped directly in front of her. Verne still wasn’t used to the new height difference him being a wolf created. 

“Does it really feel like she’s the new center of your world? That every time I see her I can’t help but smile to myself. That I always want to run my fingers through her brown hair or just melt when she looks at me with those amber eyes. Whatever she asked me to do for her I would.” 

Jacob never stopped looking Verne in the eyes as he spoke. “Does it feel like she’s the only one who’s heart _sings_ to me? Yeah, imprinting feels just like that.” 

“And the lucky girl?” Verne couldn’t help herself but smile as she asked. 

“I happen to be looking at right now.” 

Jacob leaned in to kiss Verne and she met him halfway. There was something even more passionate than any other time they had kissed. Jacob gripped her waist tight as he gently bit her bottom lip before quickly pulling away. 

“You know I’m not fragile, Jake. You don’t have to worry about hurting me.”

“The scratches, last time I wolfed out…”

Jacob grunted as Verne used her vampire strength to pull him back down to kiss her. The message was clear to him right then, Verne wasn’t fragile. Jacob didn’t hold back this time. He had to admit, if there was any good reason for her to be a vampire was that he didn’t have to restrain himself. When they both pulled away he smiled before continuing the walk. They didn’t make it more than two steps down the beach before they heard barking. Verne looked to find the source.

“Koda?”

Verne questioned as she looked towards the cliffs behind the them. Verne and Jacob both looked confused, sure that they were seeing her dog. Verne looked to see what Koda was barking at. That’s when the two saw Bella. 

“That’s too high for her,” Jacob said. They both watched, relieved as Bella stepped away from the cliff. Until she ran straight off the edge. 

“BELLA!” The two yelled and ran towards the cliff bottoms. 

Jake grabbed his friend out of the water as Koda came running down to them. Jacob performed CPR on Bella. Verne watched in anticipation as Bella’s eyes slowly opened and she began to cough up water. Jacob and Verne ushered Bella into the backseat of her truck, Verne staying with her as Jacob drove back to her house. 

Verne rushed to get her friend into the house when Jacob stopped them. “Wait, there’s a vampire.” 

“There’s a car.” Bella pointed to a car they hadn’t noticed as Jacob pulled up. 

“That’s my dad’s car?” Verne asked confused.

“It could be a trick. I can’t protect you here, it’s not our territory.”

“It’s okay Jake, you don’t have to,” Bella said. 

The front door opened and Verne watched her sister come outside and stand on the porch. 

“Alice!” Verne and Bella said in unison.

Verne had seen her sister right before she left for break but it’s not like she was expecting her in Forks. Bella and Verne both ran to greet her. Jacob followed tentatively behind them, closing the door as he entered the house. 

“Bella, would you like to explain to me how the hell you’re still alive?” Alice was angry. “I had a vision you jumped off a cliff. Why would you try to kill yourself?”

“I wasn’t trying to kill myself, it’s for fun. It’s cliff-diving, purely recreational.” 

“I have never met anyone more prone to life-threatening idiocy… What is that god awful wet dog smell?” Alice scrunched her nose in disgust. 

“That’s probably us, or it’s Jake,” Verne said, not thinking anything of it. 

“Jake?”

“Kind of a werewolf.”

“Really?! Werewolves aren’t good company.”

Jacob scoffed from where he was leaning against the doorframe. “Speak for yourself.”

“I’m not going to hurt Bella. And neither would Verne.” 

“No, you’re a Cullen. I’m talking about the other bloodsucker after her.” Jacob was holding himself back from snapping because he knew Alice was Verne's family. 

“Victoria? I didn’t see her… I can’t see anything past you and your pack of mutts!”

“Don’t get me started unless you want things to get very ugly.” Jacob stepped further into the living room. 

“Okay, you two let’s try to be civil. Where are you going?” Verne asked her sister as she watched her move towards the door. 

“You’re not leaving are you?” Bella asked. 

“I’ll be outside, I’ll come back as soon as you put the dog out.” 

Jacob felt bold and the imprint didn’t help. He felt the need to let Alice know she wasn’t getting rid of him anytime soon. 

“Don’t bother,” he said. Jacob kissed Verne's forehead. “I’ll just wait in the kitchen.” 

Verne heard the phone ring and Jacob pick it up. Her eyes flickered everywhere but to her sister. 

“What… Verne…” Alice started. 

“I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“Like hell you don’t—” Alice stopped as she got a vision. “We need to go now!”

“Alice, what is it?” Bella asked.

“It’s Edward! He thinks you’re dead. Rosalie told him why I came here.” 

“Jake! Who was that on the phone?” Verne asked worried. 

Jacob peeked his head around the corner. “I don’t know, they just asked for Charlie. Told them he was out planning Harry’s funeral.”

“Did you say it was specifically Harry’s funeral?”

“No?”

“Shit, Jacob.”

Alice’s voice was laced with panic. “He’s going to the Volturi, he wants to die too.”

“We need to go get him!” 

Jacob grabbed Verne's arm before she could follow her sister and Bella out of the house. 

“Jake I’ve got to go.”

“I just got you back, what if you die there? Isn’t that what he’s going to do?”

Verne pressed a chaste kiss to Jacob’s lips. “He’s my brother Jacob, I have to try and save him. I won’t get hurt. I’ll be back, I promise.”


	12. Chapter 12

Verne was nervously bouncing up and down as she approached the front door of the Black’s house. It was the first time she’d be seeing Jacob’s house. He was adamant about showing it after Verne rescued Edward from the Volturi. Anything to be away from her family for a few days. 

Everyone had recently moved back to Forks and, every chance she got, Alice was trying to probe her for answers about Jacob. If Edward knew anything he was keeping quiet; but knowing their brother and his disdain for the wolves, Alice must have been keeping her thoughts to herself for the time being. What no one knew, not even their parents or Jasper was that Verne was crossing the treaty line or that the other wolves knew. It was a lot to ease them into and she just hadn’t found the time. 

Verne knocked on the door. Jacob opened it, greeting her with a smile. Jacob leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek before taking her inside. 

“Dad, she’s here.” 

Verne was surprised to see a smile on Billy Black’s face as he wheeled into the front area. Billy stuck out a hand that she gladly shook. 

“Don’t look so scared, Verne.”

“I just thought…”

“It was a shock at first, but—”

“Dad’s trying for my sake,” Jacob explained as he pulled her into his side. 

“Am I doing a good job?”

“Just perfect, Mr. Black.”

“Call me Billy, hun.” 

Dinner was a surprisingly pleasant experience. Jacob was right. Billy really was trying. The thought of a vampire in his home and dating his son was one he wasn’t fond of at all. But Verne was such a sweet girl he couldn’t hold her nature against her. And something about Verne seemed less vampire than a lot of the others he’s met and killed. He was smiling watching her and Jacob interact at the table until Verne's face fell when she read a text off of her phone. 

“I’ve got to go,” Verne said, collecting her stuff. 

“You’re not staying for dessert?”

“My presence is being requested back home by at least three people. I’ll come back as soon as I can. Maybe see you tomorrow?”

“I have patrol till maybe four, babe.”

“Four? Sam’s got you working a lot.”

“Alpha’s orders.”

“I thought Ephraim Black was chief, doesn’t that make you an Alpha too?” 

“I see you’ve been doing some reading on our tribe.” Jacob avoided the question. 

“I should probably know as much about my boyfriend’s family as he seems to know about mine.” 

Billy watched happily as his son’s face lit up upon Verne saying the word ‘boyfriend’. The imprint seemed to be a really good thing for him. Verne left the Black’s house and raced back to her own. 

“You smell,” Rosalie, said as Verne entered the house. 

Verne didn’t have time to do anything about her scent. Normally they wouldn’t have noticed, Jake’s scent to other vampires seemed to be as faint as Verne's scent to wolves, but she had been in a very concentrated space with him and his father. 

“What’s all this about?”

“Bella wants to become a vampire.” Rose rolled her eyes. 

“What?”

“Right, well you all know what I want,” Bella started. “And I know how much I’m asking for, so I think it’s only fair to vote on it. So first up, Alice?”

Alice smiled and nodded. “I already consider you my sister.”

“I vote yes,” Jasper said from behind Alice, “It’d be nice to not want to kill you all the time.” 

“I’m sorry for both of you and for the way I acted. I am truly grateful that you were brave enough to save my brother. But this is not a life I would’ve chosen for myself and I wish there was someone to vote no for me, so it’s a no,” Rosalie said from the couch. 

“I agree with Rose, Bells. This isn’t a glamorous life. I know you want this but I’m begging you to live life a little more so for now, I have to say no.”

Edward nodded at Verne and Rose but all three knew it was useless, the rest of the family was going to outvote them.

* * *

Transferring back to Forks High School was easier than Verne thought. No one really batted an eyelash. She was back at the lunch table with her friends, eating all of her siblings food helping them with the illusion. 

“I’ve decided to throw a graduation party!” Alice announced suddenly. 

“After all, how many times are we going to graduate high school?” Jasper added. No one at the table saw the knowing smiles they all shared with each other. 

“A party? At your place?” Angela asked. 

“I’ve never seen your house,” Jessica said absentmindedly. Despite being friends with both girls, for the safety of the family Verne never invited them to her place but always went to theirs. 

“No one has ever seen their house,” Eric said.

“Another party Alice?” Edward asked, not as entertained by the idea. 

“It’ll be fun.”

“That’s what you said last time,” Bella muttered as she stuck a french fry in her mouth.

Alice sat back in her chair dejectedly. Verne watched as she was pulled into another vision. The Cullen family and Bella went to distract their friends from what was going on. When Verne was able to pull Alice aside she found out what the vision was about. 

* * *

“Victoria’s back.”

“Are you sure?” Sam asked Verne as she exited the kitchen. 

“Alice saw it.”

“Saw it?” Paul asked.

“She’s one of the ones with powers,” Jake explained. “Can see into the future.”

“Oh joy.” Paul slumped back into the couch. 

“We’ll keep a lookout then, thank you Verne.”

* * *

Verne was out hunting with her family. Well, they were hunting. Verne was watching them from a rock, blood bag in hand. Everyone else preferred fresh blood, Verne really didn’t care. They heard the barking of wolves and suddenly a scent she didn’t recognize entered the area. The whole family looked up at once. Victoria. Everyone sprung into action, forgetting about their hunt. Victoria teetered back and forth between the Cullen side of the treaty and the wolves side. Her weaving was throwing everyone off, neither the Cullens nor the wolves were fast enough. 

Verne couldn’t catch her without breaking the treaty and while she was the only one with permission, Victoria was faster. Verne was ready to let her go, hoping to catch her another day but her brothers kept pushing. 

The whole family stopped abruptly as they approached the river and the tiny cliff ledge, one of the markers of the end of the territory. Emmett was too into the pursuit to pay attention. He was jumping over the ledge and despite Rosalie screaming his name it was too late, he was already on the other side. They hadn’t worked out any new rules with the wolves. The rest of the Cullens still weren’t allowed on their land. And with them in pursuit of Victoria as well, they didn't even notice it was Emmett and not one of Victoria’s minions. Embry tackled Emmett to the ground. The Cullens yelled. Edward held back Rose from running over but couldn’t stop his other sister. 

“Verne, get back!” Edward screamed. 

She ignored him and ran up to Embry who growled and bit at her before realizing who it was. He whined an apology and bowed to Verne with his tail tucked between his legs as he backed away from her brother. All the wolves had gathered now. Jacob growled at him.

“I’m fine, Jacob. Embry didn’t mean it. See I’m not bleeding, not a scratch.” 

“Emmett, come back here,” Carlisle called. Emmett scrambled to his feet and raced to the other side. 

The Cullens watched in awe as Verne stood over there, unharmed. Even the few that knew about the relationship didn’t know the wolves knew. Jacob walked up to her and nuzzled into her shoulder. Verne laughed and pet his head. 

“Laverne?” Rosalie asked. “What’s going on? Get back over here before they kill you.” 

All the wolves growled in anger at Rosalie. 

“You did what?!” Edward exploded. Verne grimaced to herself. Someone’s thoughts were bound to escape at some point. Not that she really wanted this time to be that point. 

“What did they say Edward?” Emmett asked. 

“They’re offended Rosalie would ever imply they would kill her because it’s wolf law that you would never harm an…” Edward swallowed thickly. “Imprint. And Jacob imprinted on Verne.”

“He did what?!” The rest of the Cullens said at the same time. 

“You could’ve mentioned the whole imprinting part Verne,” Jasper said. 

“Slipped my mind.”

“You knew?” Alice asked Jasper. 

“They’ve been dating about as long as Edward and Bella.” 

“Maybe this is something that should be discussed in person,” Verne suggested. 

“Verne’s right,” Carlisle said. “We’d be happy to have you over.” 

The wolves looked at Verne. “They’re my family. You guys know me don’t you?” 

Whatever she said seemed to be enough for the wolves. They disappeared briefly into the woods and returned in just jean shorts. Jacob walked directly over to his girlfriend and gave her a hug. Verne hummed contently against his chest. 

“You’re always so warm,” she sighed. 

“It’s a wolf thing.”

“Unh-unh, it’s a Jacob thing.”

The wolves were kind of used to the two being like this but for Verne's family this was something entirely new and they weren’t sure they liked it. Even Carlisle never actually witnessed the way the two interacted around each other. Jasper was just amused at all the different emotions running through everybody. 

“Are my hands cold?” Verne abruptly grabbed the sides of Jacob’s face, chuckling as a shiver ran down his spine. 

“Nothing I can’t handle.” Jacob gave her a kiss. The extreme temperatures between them made for a very comfortable, human level, temperature. 

“Maybe we should have that talk now?” Edward spoke up. 

The tension was thick in the living room. The wolves might have been cool with Verne but the rest of her family put them on edge. And most of her family couldn’t stand the wolves, regardless of Verne and Jacob’s relationship. 

“Would anyone like food?” Esme asked. 

“I think that’d be best, mom,” Verne answered for everyone. Esme went to whip something up quickly. 

“Sit.” 

She motioned for the wolves to make themselves comfortable on the floor and couches. It wasn’t until Jacob sat down that they very tentatively did the same. Jacob pulled Verne into his lap as the two cuddled on the end of the couch. 

“You really imprinted on her?” Edward asked disgusted. 

“It’s not something that can be helped,” Paul said. It still shocked Verne that someone with as much disdain for vampires as Paul had would defend her so readily. 

“So, it’s my understanding that Verne has been over the treaty line multiple times now?” Carlisle asked. 

“Yes. It’d be almost inhumane to keep an imprint away. She tends to stay with my fiance, Emily while Jacob is finishing up patrol,” Sam explained. 

“And Emily?”

“Is also an imprint, not a werewolf. But she knows about everything.” 

“Well if Verne is allowed over there, I don’t see any problem with allowing Jacob over here. It seems only fair,” Carlisle said. 

“What about the rest of your family? You wouldn’t want to come over with her?”

“Why would we want to go over and hang out with a bunch of mutts?” Rosalie rolled her eyes. 

“Rose!” Verne snapped at her sister. “They’re just trying to be nice.” 

“It’s fine, not like we wanted a bunch of leeches over anyway,” Jared shrugged. 

“Hey, man. You know how she feels about that word,” Jacob snapped at his pack member. 

“I think maybe we’re done here.” Sam stuck a hand out for Carlisle to shake on the new treaty. “Jacob are you staying?”

Jacob looked at Verne and Verne looked at her parents. Both Esme and Carlisle nodded an okay. 

“Yeah, Sam. I’ll be back tonight for patrol.”

“Okay, we need everyone on high alert, especially with the redhead.”

“Got it, Sam.”


	13. Chapter 13

“So you told them?” 

Verne was headed into Bella’s room so she could finish getting ready for school. She had stopped by early just to avoid being around her family after last night. Jacob had stayed for dinner and she showed him her room for the first time. When he left, Verne was bombarded with questions from her family. 

“Hmmm, it more accidentally slipped out… someone’s been in here,” Verne said upon entering the room.

“What?” 

“I can smell something extra and it’s not ours or Charlie.” 

“Where’s my sweater?” Bella muttered to herself. “I could’ve sworn I put it on the chair. I was gonna wear it to school today.” 

Verne grabbed a random sweater from Bella’s closet and threw it at her to put on. Verne grabbed her friend’s wrist and dragged Bella back downstairs. 

“We need to go. Call the school and say you’re sick today.”

“Verne?”

“Just do it, Bella.” 

Verne started her car and began to drive back to her place. She texted her siblings and then went to call Carlisle who was currently on shift at the hospital. 

“Dad? We have a problem… no, a serious problem… ten minutes away, okay, see you soon.”

* * *

“Who is it? Someone we know?” Carlisle asked as everyone met up at the house. 

“Stranger,” Edward said. “I went back to the house, didn’t recognize the scent.”

“A nomad passing through?” Esme asked.

Rosalie shook her head. “A passerby wouldn’t have left Charlie alive.”

“Scent disappeared five miles south of Bella’s house.” Jasper entered the house. “Someone’s orchestrating this.”

“Victoria?” Bella suggested.

“I would’ve seen her decide.” Alice hadn’t had a vision in two or three days. 

“Then the Volturi?”

“I don’t think it’s the Volturi either. I’ve been watching Aro’s decisions too.”

“Okay. So we’ll keep looking,” Emmet said. 

“We take shifts guarding Bella and her house.” Carlisle ordered. 

“And I’ll tell the pack.” Verne pulled out her phone ready to text Jacob.

“Another protection detail?” Rosalie stared down Bella. 

“Rosalie…”

“No, she’s right,” Bella said. “You guys can’t protect me, watch my dad, search for this mystery stranger, and keep yourselves fed.”

“Don’t forget about Victoria,” Rosalie added. 

“I’m not leaving you defenseless,” Edward said. 

None of the Cullens were sure how to proceed. Edward nodded to his as he read Verne's mind. Jacob came over to Bella’s house to pick up the intruder’s scent. Only Jacob was needed, just from the mind-link the wolves shared they would be able to pick up on the scent if Jacob shared it with them. Jacob jumped out of Bella’s room window and met them in the front yard. 

“Whoever it was left a major stink behind. It’ll be hard to miss when we cross it again. We’ll handle it from here.”

Edward frowned, not liking the commanding tone Jacob took. “We don’t need you to handle anything or anyone. It was just to warn you.”

“I couldn’t care less what you need. We’re done here.”

“No, you’re done here.”

Verne quickly got in between the two of them before it got heated. 

“Will you two quit it. Jake, Edward’s my family. And Ed, you need to back off. I won’t talk to either of you if we continue like this.” 

* * *

“Doesn’t he own a shirt?” Edward asked annoyed. 

The rest of the Cullen family had to hunt so the pack was in charge of Bella today. The three of them met Jacob at his car. Verne ran over to her boyfriend who picked her up and spun her around. Jacob had said something about a party at the res. 

Verne was excited about whatever party it was because the whole pack was off patrol today because of it. The other boys were lounging around, playing with her dog back at Emily’s house. Verne, Jacob, and Bella were in the garage. Jake was taking his free time to fix up some issues with his car. 

“This is the first time I’ve ever actually been in here.” 

“I forgot you’ve only ever seen this place on a very tiny screen,” Bella said from where she was sitting on a spare tire. She threw a bag of chips to where Verne sat in the driver’s seat with the door open. 

“Well, you weren’t missing much babe. Welcome to the garage. Do me a favor and start the car again.”

Once Jacob felt the car was fine, they all made their way back to Sam’s house. There were a few more hours left before the party. The boys were really starting to get used to Verne around and as long as she kept bringing Koda, they loved her even more. Verne came out of the bathroom to where everyone was gathered in the dining room. She stumbled a little and had to grab the table to regain balance. 

“Verne?” Jacob looked at her concerned. The wolves went quiet. “When was the last time you ate?”

“The chips in the garage, had a big dinner a couple of days ago.”

“Not human food.” 

Verne had to sit down, her head started swimming. “Since Emmett crossed the treaty line, maybe? I don’t even think I finished it.”

“You need blood, Verne.”

“I guess it just slipped my mind. It’s not like I crave it.”

“But you said you need it don’t you?” 

The wolves jumped back when she looked up from having her head in her hands. Verne's normally gold eyes were dark brown almost black. 

“That can’t be good for you,” Jared said. 

“Jake, can you hand me my bag?” 

Everyone watched as Jacob scrambled to hand Verne your bag. She reached inside and pulled out a blood bag. 

“Alice packed my bag this morning. I know she saw this coming.” 

“Oh that’s disgusting,” Paul looked away. “I think I’m gonna be sick.”

“Yeah… it’s different actually seeing you drink,” Embry muttered before turning away himself. 

Verne drank enough to keep her feeling sustained. 

“That’s barely the bag.” Jake’s words made everyone turn to Verne. He was right. She barely made a dent in the bag. 

“I don’t want anymore. It kind of tastes bad… I’m fine, Jake.” Verne added seeing the doubt on Jacob’s face. “Are you sure about the party?”

She took one more sip just to appease Jacob before putting the blood bag up. 

“Yeah, we don’t want to be party crashers,” Bella added. 

“Technically, you’re council meeting crashers,” Sam said. 

“The council leaders are Quil’s grandfather, my dad, and Sue took over for Harry,” Jacob explained. 

“Okay, then we should really not be here.” Bella rubbed at her palms. 

“It’s fine, we thought it’d be good for you to hear the histories.”

“The histories? Like the tribe’s histories, aren’t they secret?” 

“You guys are very involved in this world, you deserve to know.” 

“Plus,” Paul added. “Imprints definitely need to know. Ha, managed to make her blush.” 

“Huh?” 

Verne opened the camera on her phone to see that Paul was right. It wasn’t really blush, but there was definitely a warmth to her face in the places a human would blush that was slightly off color from the rest of her skin. The wolves grew nervous. Jacob’s thoughts were loud and from what they gathered, none of this was supposed to happen to a vampire. Rock hard skin meant no blushing ever, so why could he see some warmth in her cheeks? Anything happens to an imprint and it affects the whole pack. Maybe Bella wasn’t the only one needing protection. 

* * *

Seth and Leah gave Verne massive hugs upon seeing her. 

“Oh it feels like it’s been forever.”

Leah pushed you playfully. “Yeah, first Alaska and then wolves… can’t believe you’re a bloodsucker now.” 

“Now, last time I checked, I’ve been like this for about four decades now, five if we count the human days. Why are you two looking at me like that?”

“We were prepared to hear a lot older. You’re not even as old as the elders.”

“I’m pretty freshly turned. You want old, the next youngest in our family is Alice… from the 1920s.” 

Verne sat in between Jacob and Leah as Billy told the story of the Third Wife. Every time he mentioned Cold Ones, Billy wouldn’t look in the girl's direction. The stories were what they were, there was no changing them but he didn’t want to drive the point home about killing her kind. Not when she directly wasn’t involved or was ever involved. Billy felt a thousand times better when he had discovered Verne had never had a taste of human blood in her life.


	14. Chapter 14

The news was playing on the TV in the living room. Another missing person in Seattle. 

“It’s getting worse, we need to do something,” Carlisle said watching the news story. 

“It takes more than one of our kind to cause the damage they’re reporting,” Jasper said. “Quite a few more, they’re undisciplined, conspicuous—”

“Newborns,” Edward finished for him. 

“Like new vampires?” Bella asked. 

“The first few months after the change. That’s when we’re at our most uncontrollable, vicious, insane with thirst.”

“No one’s trained these newborns.” Jasper observed the television closer. “But this isn’t random, someone’s creating an army.” 

“An army?” Emmett asked intrigued. 

“Created to fight someone.” 

“But we’re the only clan even close to Seattle,” Edward said. 

Carlisle started pacing. “Regardless, if we don’t put a stop to this the Volturi will, I’m surprised they’ve let it go on this long.”

“Maybe, they’re purposely ignoring it. I read Aro’s mind, Carlisle, he wants Alice and I to join him and knows we never will with our family still alive.” 

“An army would solve that for him.”

“We have to change me now then,” Bella said. 

“No, Bella. You’d be a liability as a newborn, unable to control your instincts, an easy target,” Jasper said.

“We’ll come up with something, Bells,” you assured your friend. “But changing you right now isn’t it. Think about Charlie and Renee. You can’t just disappear on them.” 

* * *

Verne was confused when she walked into her house after shopping in Port Angeles to see her father bandaging Bella’s hand. 

“Jake found out about me wanting to become a vampire.”

“And?”

“And I punched him in the face.” 

Verne just raised her eyebrows and sat down next to her friend. 

“It’s just a sprain, should heal fairly quickly,” Carlisle said. 

Emmett gave Bella’s good hand a high-five. “Punching a werewolf? You’re gonna be one tough little newborn.”

“Tough enough to take you on.” 

Rosalie slammed down her newspaper and walked off angrily. Verne thought she wasn’t that mad until they heard her room door slam. Eventually she’d get over it. Verne did when she realized Bella was adamant about her choice. 

* * *

Friday rolled around and Verne sat in the gym watching her siblings and practically all her friends graduate. Jess, Bella, and Angela piled into Verne's car after taking graduation pictures. They sped off to the Cullen house to beat the rush of everyone else getting there since Verne still had to help set up. 

“This is our best work yet,” Alice said high-fiving Rosalie as they looked at Verne, Jessica, Bella, and Angela all dressed up. 

Jessica and Angela were excited at having been dressed by The Cullen Sisters but Verne and Bella just looked uncomfortable. 

“Why do I have to dress up? It’s not my graduation.”

“You’re a Cullen aren’t you?” Rosalie asked. “We always show up and show out.”

The Cullen girl mingled and talked with random guests until she heard Bella at the front door. 

“I thought my right hook was me uninviting you.”

“Just came to drop off an ‘I’m sorry’ present and see Verne.” 

Verne heard Jacob’s voice. She quickly walked over to the front of her house where she saw Jacob, Quil, and Embry. Jacob handed Bella a small graduation present before giving Verne a kiss when she came up to him. 

“Is your sister okay?” Quil asked, pointing to Alice on the steps. She was having a vision. 

“Alice?” Verne raced over to her, Bella followed behind. “What did you see?”

“The decision’s been made.”

“What’s going on?” Jacob asked. 

Everyone waited till all the party guests had left to hold a little meeting on the back porch. 

“So we’re not going to Seattle?” Verne asked. 

“No, they’re coming here, soon. We have two weeks, if we’re lucky.”

“This could turn into a bloodbath,” Carlisle said. “Alice, can you see who’s behind it?”

“I don’t think I recognize anyone… wait one, Riley Biers.”

“That’s the first boy that went missing in Seattle. Charlie’s been working that case for a while now,” Bella said.

“They must be playing with the blind spots in your vision,” Edward told Alice. “Either way the army is coming and there aren’t enough of us to protect the town.”

“Hold up. What damn army?” Jacob asked. 

“Newborns, our kind,” Carlisle explained. 

“What are they after?” Embry asked from beside Jacob. 

“They were passing around Bella’s sweater,” Alice recounted her vision. 

“And what does that mean for us?” 

“An ugly fight. Lives lost,” Carlisle said. 

Jacob turned to look at Quil and Embry; the three of them nodded. “Alright, we’re in.”

“What? No, you’ll get yourself killed, no way,” Bella protested. 

“We weren’t exactly asking for your permission, Bells.” 

“Edward? Verne?” Bella. 

“It means more protection for you, Bella,” Edward reasoned. 

Verne looked up at the three pack members in front of her. “Are you guys sure?”

“It’s what we do, babe.”

“Jacob, do you believe Sam would agree to an understanding?” Carlisle asked him. 

“Of course, Verne’s practically family, the rest of you are extended.”

“And the others?”

“As long as we get to kill some vampires,” Jacob responded. 

“Jasper?” Carlisle turned to his youngest son. 

“They’ll give us the numbers, the newborns won’t know they even exist. It’ll give us an edge.” 

* * *

Verne sipped on the blood bag while her family was up hunting early in the morning. Every sip was a struggle to gulp down but she could feel herself getting stronger as she did it. The whole family had decided that they should hunt every morning to keep themselves at full strength in case the army arrived sooner than expected. 

Jacob called as soon as he made it back to the reservation. The wolves were ready to start training as soon as possible. Everyone agreed to meet in the woods on the Cullen's side of the treaty line. Verne's family, along with Bella who was just watching, started training early while waiting for the pack. They heard the rustling of the forest as the wolves came down the hill. 

“They don’t trust the rest of us enough to be in human form. Only Verne,” Edward said, reading Sam’s mind. 

“They came. That’s what matters,” Carlisle said. “Edward, can you translate what they’re thinking?”

Edward nodded and Carlisle turned to face the pack.

“Welcome. Jasper has a good amount of experience with newborns. He’ll be able to teach us how to defeat them.”

“They want to know how the newborns are different from us,” Edward translated. 

“They’re a great deal stronger than us because their own human blood lingers in their tissues. Our kind is never more physically powerful than in our first seven months of this life,” Carlisle said. 

Jasper stepped up to explain more. 

“Carlisle’s right. That’s why they’re created. A newborn army doesn’t need thousands like a human army, but no human army can stand against them. Now the two most important things to remember are first: never let them get their arms around you, they’ll crush you instantly. And second: never go for the obvious kill, they will be expecting that and you will lose… Emmett, you’re first.” 

Everyone backed up to give Jasper and Emmett room to spar. 

“Don’t hold back, Emmett.”

“Not in my nature.” 

Emmett ran fast at Jasper. Jasper braced himself as Emmett threw him in the air and he hit the ground. Jasper sprung up quickly. Emmett attempted to throw a punch but he missed and fell to the floor as Jasper’s fist collided with his stomach. Jasper and Emmett sparred a bit more before Jasper called Carlisle and Edward to spar. 

They both ran and grabbed each other’s necks. Carlisle threw Edward but missed his next hit. Edward pushed Carlisle down to the ground. Edward stepped a little bit away, looking to Jasper to see if he did a good job. 

“One more thing,” Jasper said, “Never turn your back on your enemy.”

Jasper rolled his eyes as Carlisle got up and pushed Edward to the floor. Jasper called you up. 

“Are you sure about this, V? When James—”

“Are you getting soft, Major Whitlock?” Verne taunted. She didn’t want to be reminded and the family still didn’t know about the scratches. 

She might not have been as fast or as strong as some of the other family but general fighting she excelled in. Verne knew how to use her size and limitations to her advantage. Everyone watched as Verne and Jasper sparred, their fight lasting the longest. Jasper managed to finally get a grip on his sister and he slammed her to the ground. Verne gave out a hard grunt as she hit the forest floor. Jacob gave a short bark. 

“Jas, stop!” Edward said, reading the wolves’ mind. According to Jacob he could feel Verne’s pain. 

“Too hard?” Jasper helped Verne to her feet. 

She rubbed her back in pain. “I’m losing my edge, really thought I had you. Were you using full strength?”

“Too much?”

“No, no. I should get used to it. Not like the newborns are gonna hold back.” 

Verne lifted her shirt slightly making everyone gasp. The wolves growled slightly, not liking the sight of Verne hurt. There were some cracks around her back. Everyone watched as the cracks closed up, bleeding slightly as they did, before bruising and then immediately fading. 

“Damn, Jas. You could give Emmett a run for his money in strength.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jasper put his hand on shoulder.

“Yeah, Jas. I feel fine, great even. Just knocked the wind out of me briefly.” 

“Okay, Verne. I think we’re done for the day.” Jasper turned to the wolves. “We’ll meet again at the same time tomorrow.” 

Jacob walked over to the girl in wolf form. She patted his head, feeling the soft short fur. Verne never really saw Jacob’s wolf form. He almost always changed back before meeting up with her. 

“He wants to know if you want to come over for dinner, Billy’s cooking dinner,” Edward translates, “And there’s dessert this time.”

Verne laughed and agreed to come over. She walked back with the wolves to Jacob’s house. Dinner went just as well as it did last time. Verne felt very comfortable at the Black’s house. Billy retired for the night after pulling the brownies from the oven. 

Verne and Jacob sat on his bed eating brownies and ice cream. Jacob gave her one of his flannel shirts to wear as pajamas. Just like the bathing suit in Alaska, Jacob could do nothing but stare as Verne stripped out of her outer layer and put his shirt on over her underwear. Verne was vaguely aware of how he looked at her in those moments, relishing ever so slightly that she made him feel the way he did. 

“What do you want to do when this is all over?” Jacob pulled Verne onto the bed. She snuggled into his arms welcoming the body heat. Jacob liked how the cold temperature of her skin cooled him down. 

“It’ll be summer, I’m thinking Hawaii.”

“My sister Rebecca lives in Hawaii, think she’ll let us crash at her place?” 

Verne laughed against his chest. “If not then I’ll take you to my hometown. I think you’d like San Francisco.”

“You wanna stay for one week or two?”

“Two." 

Verne and Jake continued to talk, their voices becoming a low whisper so as not to disturb Billy. 

* * *

The back of Verne's thigh felt a bit damp as if she was uncomfortably sweaty. She stood up from Jacob’s bed, waking him up in the process. Verne looked at the small red spot on his bedsheets. 

“Shit did I accidentally scratch you?”

“It’s fine, Jake. I think… I’m just gonna go see if the wound healed, where even is it?”

Verne turned to enter Jacob’s bathroom so she could attempt to find the scratches. Jacob watched as she started to walk away, his flannel shirt had ridden up.

“Verne, it’s not a scratch.”

“Huh?”

Jacob pointed to the back of Verne's underwear exposed by the ridden up flannel. 

“Period spot.”

Verne attempted to look at her own butt. Vampires weren’t supposed to bleed at all and even though it was clear that some things caused you to bleed, Verne didn’t think periods was something she’d ever have again. She would have to tell Carlisle about this at some point. Great, Verne never thought she’d have the period talk with her dad again. Only under much weirder circumstances. 

“Must’ve started in your sleep. Rebecca used to complain about that all the time.”

“What did you say?” Verne asked alarmed. 

“It’s just a period spot, I can wash the sheets. No harm, no foul.”

“No Jacob, did you just say sleep?”

“Yeah. You clocked out at like midnight. We were talking and you just kinda fell asleep on me… this is a problem isn’t it?”

“Jake, you have to take me home now.” 

Edward was already outside when they reached the Cullen house. Jacob’s thoughts could be heard for miles sometimes when it came to Verne. “I called Carlisle, he’s on his way home already.”


	15. Chapter 15

The rest of the Cullen siblings waited with Verne and Jacob in the living room for Carlisle. If vampires could cry, Rosalie would be bawling her eyes out on the floor. No one knew what was wrong with Verne but it was clear it couldn’t have been good. Verne had been having weird variations in her vampirism since she were bit but it hadn’t become truly noticeable or a problem till seventeen years ago. 

Carlisle immediately ushered her to his at-home office when he got home. Verne went through all the standard tests. Carlisle checked her eyes, ears, skin, reflexes. Verne seemed fine. 

“Verne, I’m gonna have to draw blood.” 

The request seemed almost ridiculous to Carlisle but he had seen Verne bleed before with his own two eyes. When Carlisle went to poke her with the needle, it wouldn’t go through the skin, not easily. She still had tougher skin like a vampire. 

“I’m gonna have to bite you.”

Verne nodded as Carlisle bit her wrist. Some blood leaked out and Carlisle collected it. Verne scrunched up her nose, for the first time in a long time she could clearly smell blood. She could smell a lot. Verne walked back into the living room where all eyes turned on her. 

“We’re gonna have to wait a few hours while dad looks at the sample.” 

Verne went upstairs to change into fresh clothes before going back down. She sat next to Jacob who laced his fingers through hers. Edward’s head snapped up. 

“She’s not gonna die, Jacob.”

“Hmm?” Verne looked between her boyfriend and her brother. 

“He’s worried about you… and if you die, he might too,” Edward read what was on Jake’s mind. 

“Jacob, what?” 

Before he could explain, Leah and Seth came bursting through the front door of the Cullen house quickly followed by the rest of the pack. The Cullen siblings held their breath so as not to make any rude comments. 

“Jacob’s thoughts are loud as hell, what’s this about you dying?!” Leah pulled Verne into a death grip. 

“Leah, I’m fine. But…” she turned back to Jacob. “What is Edward talking about you dying.” 

“It’s the imprint,” Sam explained. “It’s one thing to be rejected by the imprint. It’s a pain deeper than heartbreak but something the wolf learns to accept for their imprint’s happiness. But if you die, the break of that bond is so painful it could literally kill a wolf.” 

Emmett huffed, “Why imprint if it comes with all these complications.”

“Billy thinks it has something to do with the primal side. Something about the wolf finding the best pairing to pass on the gene.”

“Then Verne’s the worst option out there. Vampires can’t have children,” Rosalie spoke up. She would know, a baby was something Rosalie had wanted so bad in her human life. 

Carlisle came out of the office. “I don’t understand. The tests are the same as before, you’re perfectly healthy, V. Above average even.”

“I think I figured it out.” Edward had been sitting quietly, probing everyone’s minds to find out what was happening to his sister. 

“I think it’s the imprint.”

“The imprint, Ed?” Verne looked at her brother confused. 

“If Billy’s theories are true then what would be stronger than something half werewolf half vampire—”

“But I can’t have children.”

“I think it’s turning you partially human.”

“How?”

“How do I read minds? How can Jake turn into a wolf or Alice see the future? I think it just is what it is.”

Everyone looked at Edward like he was crazy. Of course there was no rulebook to the supernatural world but for Verne to be turning back, that was crazy. 

“Think about it. You’re fast like us, strong like us, heightened senses, tougher skin. But you get bruised now, you bleed. You can go out in the sun unlike the rest of us. You drink blood because you have to but the taste disgusts you and now you can have a period again. It’s turning you as human as it can while keeping the best parts of a vampire.”

“So I’m not going to die?”

“I don’t think so.”

Verne breathed out a sigh of relief. Sam turned to Carlisle wondering if he had ever heard of anything like that before. Carlisle hadn’t but it wasn’t entirely impossible. They watched as Verne's eyes fluttered closed before she quickly reopened them. It seemed her body was trying to compensate for the years of sleep it had missed all in one night. 

“If you’re tired, go take a nap Verne.” 

“I’m good. What does this mean about the fight?”

“No way. We don’t know how human you are or are still becoming. You stay with Bella.” 

* * *

Verne went around with Bella helping her mark parts of the battle field with her blood before returning to Jacob and Seth. They were going up the mountain with the girls to help cover Bella’s scent as they went to a place safely away from the battle. Edward would meet them up there in a few hours, after the scent of wolf was firmly set on the trail. 

“Are you all set?” Jacob asked as they waited in the tent. 

“I’m fine, just wish I could join the fight. You and Seth should get down before the storm hits.”

“No, we’re staying. You need our connection to the pack to see what’s going on.”

“You’re not gonna fight?”

“Not till the end, Seth’s gonna stay here the whole time though. Your brother needs to be able to see how the scene’s playing out.” 

Morning of the battle came quicker than anyone would’ve liked. 

“Jacob just got there, he’s fine.” Edward was in charge of the play by play. Your brother’s face scrunched in worry. 

“Is someone hurt?” Bella asked. 

“She’s close! Seth go! Shit, she knew we weren’t there but she caught my scent. She knows you’re with me.”

“It’s okay, Ed. We can protect, Bells.” Verne put a hand on her brother’s shoulder. “Can’t be that hard to take down one redheaded bitch.”

“She’s not alone.”

Right as Edward said that, Riley Biers appeared. It was three versus two. They should’ve had the advantage but Seth was a new wolf and Verne was this weird human hybrid that was getting used to her new life. They weren’t losing but the tables could turn at any moment. Everyone’s heads turned and Verne's quickly followed. 

Bella was holding a bloody rock in her hand and Verne could see a cut on her arm. Just like the Third Wife story that Billy had told. It was exactly what they needed. The cut distracted both Riley and Victoria as Seth took care of Riley while Verne and Edward tag teamed Victoria. 

Edward held his breath as he ripped part of Bella’s jacket to make a bandage for her cut. Seth walked up to Edward. 

“Alice needs us to go, now.” Edward read Seth’s mind. 

The battle was winding down as they arrived. Verne heard the wolves growl and looked to see Leah going after one of the few newborns left. 

“Leah, don’t!” Edward yelled.

Jacob took off to protect Leah. The newborn wrapped around Jacob’s midsection and squeezed tight. 

“Jake!” Verne screamed and raced to where Jacob’s human body was curled up on the ground in pain. 

“The Volturi are coming, you need to get out of here,” Edward said to the wolves. 

They phased back and helped Verne carry Jacob back to Billy’s house. The wolves watched as Verne sat in a chair by the end of Jake’s bed. She covered her ears tightly as Carlisle reset the bones, Jacob screaming as each bone was re-broken. Embry hugged Verne as best as he could and rubbed her back. They knew how strong a bond could be between imprints but because Verne was supernatural as well, it seemed like she could feel his pain as much as the wolf could feel hers. 

“I’m trying to help him but his body temperature seems to wear off the morphine faster than I can give it to him,” Carlisle stood up and explained to Sam and Billy. “His ability should have him heal soon but I’m afraid I might not be able to do much for the pain.” 

“No, but it looks like she can.” Paul motioned to where Verne was sitting. 

Verne had a hand on Jacob’s leg, just gently brushing her hand back-and-forth. It was something her real mother used to do to comfort. The wolves could feel Jacob’s pain lessen. 

“Would that be the imprint?” Carlisle asked. 

“No. That would be all Verne… it’s not the first time this has happened. She calmed him down mid-phasing once.”

Carlisle seemed to freeze in thought. “She does that with Edward and Jasper’s powers as well.”

“Is this another weird thing with me?” Verne asked. She looked over to Carlisle. Jacob groaned in pain until her hand touched him again. 

“I don’t think my immense self-control is your power. I think it’s the ability to subdue. That’s why your brothers cling to you. You can dull senses.” 

“That’s a good thing right?”

“For Jake’s sake,” Sam said from behind Carlisle. “I think that’s a pretty damn good thing.”


	16. Chapter 16

Billy wheeled into Jacob’s room around 11pm to see Verne slumped over in the chair, her hand touching Jacob. She jumped at the touch of Billy’s hand on her shoulder. 

“It’s late, Verne. You should get some rest, I prepped Rachel and Rebecca’s room. I don’t think Jake has much space right now.”

Verne looked over to the bed, Jacob had to be on his back so the bones set properly and he was definitely taking up most of the room. “But what if he’s still in pain?”

“He’s asleep. Jake is strong, you need to rest too.”

Verne mumbled an okay and followed Billy out of Jake’s room. The minute she landed on one of the beds she passed out. Verne woke up a few hours later and headed to Sam’s house while Jacob was still asleep.

“How is he?” Emily asked. 

Verne sat down at the breakfast table, taking the cereal box from Seth to pour some for her breakfast. 

“Still sleeping. It’ll be two weeks, and then you should keep him off patrol for another one week.”

“Three weeks to heal? I thought he was supposed to heal faster.”

“That is faster, Paul. Carlisle said a normal human would take six weeks, minimum… Jake? You’re supposed to be at home.” 

Verne looked to see her boyfriend in the doorway. Jake walked in like he wasn’t howling in pain the night before. Jacob sat down, wincing slightly. 

“I got hungry.” 

Verne instinctively placed a hand on his forearm. 

“So how exactly do you do that, Verne?” Paul asked, watching as Jacob instantly stopped wincing, only slight discomfort on his face. 

Verne shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t even realize it was something I could do till Carlisle said it.”

“He said your brothers use it?”

“Yeah, Ed and Jas get very overwhelmed sometimes in rooms with lots of people. Too many thoughts, too many emotions. I’m usually always next to them to help them cope, guess all these years I was calming them. Jake, what does it feel like?”

“Like an overall numbing almost. Not just the pain, everything’s slightly lower. Eyes aren’t as sharp, food tastes kinda dull. Can’t smell shit right now.”

“Woah, V. I wanna try.”

“I’m not a toy, Embry.” Verne rolled her eyes and placed a hand on Embry’s arm anyway. 

“Dude, my whole body feels numb.” Embry took a bite of bacon. “You’re right, less flavor.”

Verne entertained the rest of the pack with her powers. Any touch longer than ten seconds and they felt all their senses go slightly. Even Emily participated. Leah sat back in her chair after it was her turn. 

“Can you spot control it?”

“Hmm?”

“Only dull one thing at a time?”

“I’m not sure. I could probably if I worked on it. Edward used to only be able to read one mind at time, now he hears a whole room.” 

Jacob removed Verne's hand from his forearm. “I kinda want to actually taste the breakfast sandwich. I’ll take the pain.” 

“Ugh, your dad and brothers are here, Verne.” Paul gagged. 

“I thought you guys were starting to get along.”

“No, your dad’s great just the scent’s a little strong in the morning. Especially over breakfast.” 

Carlisle and the Cullen boys came into the house, the looser treaty made life a whole lot easier. Her brothers stayed near the door but were actually being civil with the pack. Carlisle was just there to check on Jacob’s healing. Emmett threw her a blood bag laughing as the pack looked disgusted while she struggled to drink it. 

“Is it really that bad?” Jasper asked.

“Jas, it tastes like nothing really but then just aftertaste.”

“Now you know how I feel, babe,” Jacob said. “You were making the food mildly unbearable.”

“Jake, food always tastes like that. Unless it’s bad, that’s just straight aftertaste.” 

“Food doesn’t taste like that.”

“He’s right, girl, food isn’t supposed to taste like that. Not sure what you’ve been eating all your life,” Leah said. 

“For the record, blood doesn’t taste like that either,” Edward said. 

Jacob yelped as Carlisle did one of his tests and Verne's hand immediately flew to his chest. Jacob looked at her wide-eyed. 

“What?”

“Pain’s completely gone, more than last time… I can actually smell this time.” 

Verne's surprise at Jacob’s yelp at sent her into a hyperfocus on accident. She was so concerned with his pain that her power immediately concentrated as best it could onto just his injuries. She pulled her hand away quickly. 

“Verne?” Carlisle asked. 

“Was that how you feel all the time?” Verne asked Edward, knowing he could read her thoughts. 

“Yeah, pretty much.” 

Verne placed her hand on Jacob’s chest focusing on his ribs and taking away pain. As she did, Verne felt all her senses get a lot clearer. Verne grabbed the blood bag on the table, careful not to break her concentration. She drank a bit. The taste was actually bearable, dare she say actually really good. She took a bite of the biscuits Emily made. Normally they were delicious but Verne realized how much taste she was actually missing. 

And then she smelled something overwhelming sweet. It was so sweet her mouth watered a bit. Like all the best scents she loved as human back in San Francisco. Edward chuckled slightly hearing her thoughts. Verne looked over at Jacob. 

“La Tua Cantante makes so much more sense now.” 

“Tua Cantante?” Leah and Seth asked, confused.

“Blood singer,” Paul explained. “You guys missed a couple things before you phased. Vampire mate, yada yada, best smelling blood ever irresistible pull, yada, Jacob’s hers, Verne can’t smell it. Pretty much it.” 

Verne turned to her brothers, very excited. “You never said it smelled like our old lives.”

“That’s how it gets you. I’m actually kind of amazed at your control,” Jasper said.

“I think it’s the imprint? The human part of me?”

Verne frowned as her hand left Jacob when she turned to look at her brothers, everything had faded again. Verne placed her hand back and was overwhelmed with the sweet scents once again. Jacob looked down at her and kissed her forehead. 

“You can smell my blood now?”

“I can smell everything now. And no offense to everyone but all of you kind of smell.”

“Is it bad?” Emmet chuckled. “Who’s worse, wolves or us?”

“Mmm, neither’s bad. But definitely distinct… oh this is so weird. You know the last time I think I could smell this well was when you first bit me.”

“But why now?” Carlisle asked.

“I’m not sure, I was just focused on Jacob’s pain and…”

Everyone looked as Verne and Edward started laughing hysterically. 

“I’ve been using my own powers on myself all these years. That’s why I had your self-control, dad. I’ve been dulling my own senses. I’ve never had to concentrate it before.” 

“You’re gonna have to learn to control it, Jacob won’t be in pain forever for you to concentrate on.” 

Verne gently took her hand away and felt the cloud of power dull her whole body once again. 

* * *

The Cullen siblings all jumped on Verne's bed at once, sending her high into the air. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” 

“Mmmm? Why are we celebrating? I thought we stopped doing birthdays every year.”

“You’re not even a century yet, for you we keep doing birthdays,” Edward said. 

Alice handed Verne a Polaroid of her asleep with a birthday hat on. Verne was starting to think they were enjoying messing with her because she was the youngest and recently the slowest and weakest. 

“I’m starting to wish I couldn’t sleep if it allows you to mess with me like this.”

“Oh hush. We’ve got a whole day for you,” Alice said.

“So when we say the whole day?”

“The whole day,” Rosalie started. “You’re with us for breakfast, Bella and your human friends want you for lunch, the wolves get you for dinner.”

“Oh, good.”

Verne came down the stairs with her siblings to a stack of birthday pancakes made by Esme. As Verne ate, presents were slowly shoved towards her one by one. A hairpin with the family crest from Carlisle and Esme. New shoes that she was expected to wear that day from Rosalie. A new outfit from Alice, also expected to wear that day. Some new records from Jasper and custom-covered books from Emmett. Edward handed her a box of stuff from San Francisco. 

“Thank you guys, seriously. Thank you!” 

Verne was pulled into her bathroom by Rosalie and Alice before she could fully process what was happening. They made her up, in a mix of Verne's style and their style. The girl had to admit getting pampered by her sisters was kind of nice. All she had to do was sit on a fluffy chair, sipping on a blood bag, at her vanity while they dolled Verne all the way up. 

Emmett and Jasper rearranged the living room to turn it into a giant concert hall. Verne had fun with her family dancing and singing to music from each of when they were human, everyone making fun of Carlisle’s music the most. Edward even played the piano for a few pieces. When Bella, Jessica, and Angela showed up, Verne forced them to sing a couple songs before leaving with them. 

Upon getting to La Push beach, Verne realized why Alice and Rose put on the waterproof makeup and crazy amounts of setting spray. The best part about a summer birthday in Forks was the fact that the weather was finally warm enough to hang out at the beach properly. Jessica brought an extra surfboard for Verne and her to surf while Angela and Bella talked on the sand. 

“Jess, you ever thought about doing competitions?” Verne asked her as they both headed back in to grab the paddle boards from Bella’s truck. 

“Competitions? Never really crossed my mind.”

“You should. You’re crazy good, seriously.” 

“Thanks, V. Ange, Bells, come on waves won’t wait forever.”

Bella and Angela reluctantly got up and sat on the boards while Verne and Jessica paddled away. Eventually they were all hungry for lunch and headed to the best diner in town. Verne was enjoying lunch with Angela and Jessica, especially since they were headed off to college soon. Leah and Seth strolled into the diner. Verne threw a fry at Seth that he caught in his mouth. 

“Time to go already? You guys are gonna have me worn out by the end of the day.”

“We’re not gonna be the ones to have you worn out tonight.”

“Oh my God, SETH!” Verne pushed her friend as she walked out with Seth and Leah. 

When Verne got to the res, she noticed most of the guys outside Emily’s playing soccer. Verne joined up in the game, siding with Paul and Jared. She wanted to help Emily cook but Emily insisted that it was Verne's birthday dinner so she should stay out of it. Verne watched movies on the couch with the pack, looking at the door every five minutes or so. 

“Jake doesn’t get you till after dinner,” Embry said. 

“I’m no—”

“You keep looking at the door, you’re looking for Jake don’t even try to deny it.”

“Ok fine. But Rose said I was with the pack for dinner.”

“Yeah,” Leah answered her, smiling. “Pack for dinner, Jacob after.” 

Jacob came strolling in at the very end of dinner. Verne quickly got up from the table and ran over to him. Now that he was fully healed, Jacob was able to lift her no problem. He kissed her, said his hi’s and goodbye’s to the pack and took Verne back to his place. The girl said a brief hi to Billy who wished her ‘Happy Birthday’ while Jacob grabbed a couple things he had left in the house before following him to the garage. 

Verne almost didn’t recognize the garage if it wasn’t for the fact that it was right next to Jacob’s house. Everything but the car was gone, probably around the back or very neatly hidden from her. The floor was covered in blankets and pillows, and there were even small lights hung up. 

“Jacob,” Verne whispered in awe looking at the transformed garage. 

He smiled, taking her hand and walking into the garage. Verne didn’t even pay attention to the remote Jacob had in his hand until he pressed a button on it and slow music started to play. She recognized the piece upon hearing three notes. 

“It’s my song.”

“Your brother was kind enough to record it for me.”

About three decades ago, when Verne was still struggling to cope with the loss of her family Edward had written her a piano piece to help cope. Four movements and her favorite was movement three, _“The Lightness of Laverne”_. It was slower than all the other movements but written in a style that made it sound lively and happier. It was how Edward saw her at the time, his bubbly little sister that was dealing with a lot on the inside and moving slightly behind the rest of the world. 

“Will the lady spare me a dance?” 

Verne rested her head on Jacob’s chest as the two of them swayed around the middle of the garage. The music slowly came to an end and the two stopped dancing. While Jacob closed the garage door so he could set up the movie projector, Verne sat in the car changing into pajamas and using the car mirrors to see so she could wipe off the makeup Alice and Rose put on. Her pajamas were just Jacob’s clothes. 

A sleepover in the garage was one of the best ways to end a birthday. Verne and Jake watched a movie, both of you constantly stealing glances at each other during the whole time. At one point, Jacob caught her looking and leaned in to kiss her. Jacob was resting on his hands, leaning over Verne, looking into your eyes. The stare was so intense she almost wanted to look away. 

Jacob’s sudden kiss to her neck caught Verne off guard, causing her to gasp. Verne was so caught off guard that her powers had dropped for a second and very briefly she was aware of every sense. She brought Jacob’s lips back to hers. Verne could feel him holding back, knowing she wasn’t fully vampire anymore. She pulled on Jacob’s t-shirt, bringing his body closer. 

“Jake,” Verne muttered against his lips. “Please.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, I don’t know how human you are.”

“You don’t have to hold back with me.” 

Jake began to drop his guard. She focused as much energy as she could to feel the shield of her powers over her. She felt it like a whole body cover. Slowly, as Jacob kissed each part of her body Verne focused on removing that cover and making it stay gone. 

As he made it back to Verne's lips, she was overwhelmed with senses. Jacob grunted slightly as Verne used all her strength and flipped the two of them. She understood Edward so much now when it came to Bella. Everything about Jacob’s scent invited her in and Verne wanted everything to do with him. He sat up and removed his shirt. While Alice’s powers were somewhat invasive, Verne guessed she could thank Alice for dressing her even down to underwear for her birthday. 

“Mmm hmm, red’s definitely your color.”

Jacob’s hands traced over wherever red cloth touched Verne's upper body. He could look at her all day in just a bra and his sweatpants. As Jacob’s heartbeat faster with each glance at her, the scent of his blood grew even stronger. Verne had no desire to drink his blood but it was becoming more and more overwhelming, she found it hard to control herself. Jacob gripped her hips as Verne kissed down his jaw and neck.


	17. Chapter 17

Verne woke up to Jacob walking back into the garage with a breakfast tray in hand. He easily closed the door one handed and returned to Verne. She had put his sweats back on and wrapped herself up in the blanket. 

“Good morning,” Verne said, yawning and stretching. 

“Morning. We’ve got toast and bacon and juice.”

He sat the tray down between the two of them and they both began to dig in. This space Verne was existing in with Jacob felt so comfortable, like one she had known her whole life. 

“Technically you have one last present. This one’s from everyone. Me, dad, your family, the pack.” Jacob handed her a small envelope.

Verne set down her piece of toast to grab it. 

“Jake what is this? Y’all have already done so much… wait for real? This isn’t happening.”

She was staring at plane tickets. Two that said San Francisco and two that said Hawaii.

“Carlisle said everyone else has had a chance to go vacation on their own but you always stayed behind with them.”

Verne practically leapt onto her boyfriend, almost sending Jacob back as she hugged and kissed him. 

“We leave after Bella’s wedding.”

* * *

Verne was watching Bella break in her wedding shoes. She looked like an awkward duck. Verne didn’t want to laugh at her friend but she couldn’t help it. Heels were not for the uncoordinated.

“I’ve been breaking these in for three days, I think I should go barefoot.” Bella turned to Alice.

“Absolutely not.”

“It’s just, you don’t think this is a little much. The dress, the shoes, all of it.”

Verne couldn’t blame Bella. This wedding was Alice’s dream but Bella didn’t really care about all this. Alice spent the day bossing the boys around and making sure everything for Bella’s wedding tomorrow was perfect. 

* * *

Jacob held the small bridesmaid’s bouquet of flowers as Verne tied his tie for him. They heard the click of a camera and saw a quick flash go by. 

“Seriously? Pictures, Rose?”

“What? You two looked cute.” 

Jacob handed Verne back her bouquet and she went with Rosalie to go line up for the wedding procession. The ceremony itself went off without any problems. Bella’s wedding really did look great. Although Verne probably wouldn’t let Alice take over planning for hers, she at least wanted some influence when the time came. 

* * *

Verne, Jake, Bella, and Edward all took the same car to the airport. Verne gave her brother and friend a hug. 

“Have fun you two!” 

“Bring me back something from San Francisco,” Bella said as she hugged her back tightly. 

The Airbnb they stayed at was super close to Verne's old neighborhood. She and Jacob spent the first day buying groceries and settling in. Verne took him all around the city, showing him her favorite old spots and discovering new things that had been put up since she had left. This trip was just what she needed before summer came to an end and she had one more year of school left.

“Verne, I have a serious question to ask you.”

She and Jake were walking along the huge pier in San Francisco.

“Yeah?”

“After you graduate, are you guys just going to leave again? Are you gonna go off to college?”

“Jake I’ve been to college three times now. I don’t really need another degree. I guess we haven’t thought about what we’re doing. After I graduate we’ll still have at least five years before people start to notice and maybe another one or two before they get suspicious. But we’ve got time, I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”

“Alright.” Jacob kissed her forehead. They had a couple days left in San Francisco before spending two weeks in Hawaii and going back to Forks. 

* * *

The two were back at the Airbnb setting up a chess board on the floor of the bedroom. Both Verne and Jacob were in ridiculous couples underwear and t-shirts that read “I ❤ San Fran” that they had picked up at a tourist shop on the pier. 

“Do you already know how to play?”

Jacob shook his head and Verne began showing him the rules. “Edward taught me how.”

“You sure you two aren’t actually related?” Jake asked as he made his first move.

“Hmm?” 

“You two are so much alike sometimes. Same music, same hobbies, same wavelength of thinking.” 

Verne laughed and continued to play. When the game finished— she beat Jacob— Verne got up to get lunch for both of them. Jacob stood up and pulled Verne back by the band of her underwear. 

“Jake,” she whined as her back met his chest. 

“Yes, princess?” 

He laughed and turned her around so he could kiss her. Verne still was’t able to fully drop the shield she had around herself but moments when she was eating or intimate she let her powers go, enjoying the full sensation of everything. Jacob’s hands found their way to his favorite part of Verne, gripping your butt harshly. She jumped slightly as the first spank landed on her ass. Jacob rubbed the area where the first one landed, soothing the slight sting before spanking a few more times.

“What about lunch?” Verne asked. The words came out choppy as Jacob reached into her underwear.

“The Chinese food can wait, I’m not that hungry.” Jacob mumbled against her lips. “Are you?”

“I think I’m hungry for something else.”

Jacob’s fingers paused momentarily as Verne reached for him. His blood smelled even sweeter when he was overwhelmed and turned on; and, Verne wanted nothing more than to keep that scent going. The scent of her blood singer gave Verne the overwhelming urge to take control. She took Jacob’s shirt off before removing her own clothes. Jacob growled as Verne was on top of him, both of them slightly breathless. They were getting closer when they heard a slight cracking noise. Jacob gripped Verne's hips to stop her. 

“Wait, Verne.” 

Verne looked at where Jacob was staring. Underneath his fingers were slight cracks. They both watched as the cracking closed and turned to bruises before slowly fading completely. Jacob sat up a bit, removing his hands from anywhere near the area. 

“Shit, I’m so sorry Verne. I let myself go too much.” 

She knew something seemed different this time. “Jake it’s fine. I like it when you let go completely, I know you want to.” 

“I can’t. Look, I just hurt you.”

“I’m fine, it would just be some normal bruising if I was fully human. I’m a vamp, our skin’s so tough we crack and break not bruise.”

“But if it’s not just bruising, I’m actually breaking—”

“Jacob, look at me.” Verne grabbed the sides of his face. “I’m tough, okay. I don’t want you to hold back anymore, not at all. Let go completely. The cracks are bruises, like a hickey.”

“Verne…”

“I’m your imprint aren’t I?”

“So you know when I’m in pain.” 

Verne began to roll her hips again, placing Jacob’s hands back on her. He held on a little tighter. Jacob was turned on but still nervous as he watched little cracks form under his fingers before turning into bruises.

“Does it feel like I’m in pain, Jacob?” 

Jacob smiled, happy to oblige. Verne's phone rang on her nightstand and he looked over.

“It’s your brother.”

“Probably checking in on us. Ignore it, I’ll call back later.”

The phone went dead before it rang again. Verne answered the phone, frustrated.

“What, Emmett?” 

Verne swung her legs over the bed and let them dangle there. Out of everyone it just had to be Emmett. He loved to talk and his conversations could take literal hours.

“Hey, Verne.” Something in his voice sounded kind of odd but Verne couldn’t place it. “How is the vacation?”

“The vacation’s just great, Em. We were having a really good time.” Verne tried to emphasize without giving away exactly what she and Jake were doing, hoping Emmett would get some kind of a clue and hang up.

“Fun. So you and Jacob are doing good?”

“Yes. We are doing fine, no injuries, no sicknesses, no money issues.” 

Jacob smiled as Verne looked over at him and rolled her eyes. He lazily rubbed on her thighs while she talked to Emmett. Verne watched Jacob’s smile go devilish. She gave him a questioning look as he got off the bed.

“Right now? We didn’t do much of anything today, it’s a pretty quiet day in San Fran—”

“Verne, honey are you okay?” Verne heard Esme’s voice. 

“Yeah…sorry, I got distracted. Emmett am I on speaker?” Verne had to collect yourself. Jacob was reveling in the fact that she was struggling to keep composure.

“Yeah, the whole family’s here.”

A chorus of ‘hi (Y/N) hi Jacob’ could be heard and Verne barely choked out a hi. Jacob lifted his head for a moment to say hi as well. 

“So you guys are still in San Francisco?”

“Yeah, for another day or two.”

“How quickly can you get home?”

“WHAT Emmett?” 

Verne's hand flew to Jacob’s hair. She could feel Jacob smirk at the last reaction.

“Sorry. You guys are gonna have to cut your vacation short. We need you to come back like now.”

“Now?”

“We have a problem back home.”

“Okay, fine…we’ll be back tomorrow evening.”

“Tomorrow evening?!” Verne heard the exasperated voice of Edward.

“Yes, Ed. Jake and I still have to pack…And book new flights.”

“Ok. See you tomorrow evening.”

“Yeah, tomorrow.” 

“Sorry to cut your vacation short, Verne. I know you guys were looking forward to Hawaii.”

“It’s alright, Hawaii can wait. I think we got plenty of time.” Jacob saved for Verne as she was finally calming down, holding his shoulders for support.

“We’ll see you tomorrow, bye guys.”

Verne hung up the phone and pushed Jacob jokingly.

“Really? While everyone was on the phone?”

“I think you liked it.” Jacob kissed her lips. “Are you okay to go one more round?”

Verne smacked his butt. “After what you just pulled I don’t know if I should let you get off.”

She giggled as Jacob rolled his eyes and pulled her towards him. 

* * *

“We’re back. There better be a good reason we’re not surfing the beaches of Honolulu right now.” Verne walked into the house with Jacob.

Everyone was gathered awkwardly towards the front. Despite being very worried about what they were going to tell her, Verne's brothers were ready to beat the crap out of Jacob when the two entered the living room. The hickeys on her neck and bruising on her wrists hadn’t faded from yesterday. The cracks only closed up that morning. When Verne gave Jacob permission to not hold himself back, he really didn’t. The Cullen brothers couldn’t stop staring making their sister want to shrink into Jacob’s side. 

Edward stopped looking at the marks and attempted to look Verne in the eye. “Bella’s pregnant.”

Verne and Jake raced past your siblings. 

“V, Jake? Is that you?” Bella’s voice rang out. 

“She’s been asking for you two,” Rose said as she helped Bella stand up. 

Verne looked at her friend who was pale, deathly skinny, and heavily pregnant. None of it made sense. Verne and Jacob were only gone for two weeks. Even if they had gone to Hawaii, it would only have been a month. 

“What the hell did you do?!” Jacob turned to Edward. Verne put a hand on him, stopping him from going after her brother.

“I didn’t know it was possible,” Edward said. 

“Carlisle, what is it?” Verne asked her father.

“I don’t know… the ultrasound and needles won’t penetrate the embryonic sac.”

“I can’t see it either,” Alice told them. “And I can’t see Bella’s future anymore.”

“Edward, what did you do…” Verne whispered looking at Bella. She whimpered in pain and Verne was by her side in an instant, making it all go away.


	18. Chapter 18

The Cullens watched as Verne and Jacob barely left Bella’s side, sleeping on the couch with her at night. Jacob warmed her up and Verne dulled all the pain. They felt bad as the two of seemed to work around the clock for their friend while the Cullens couldn’t do much to help. Even the husky, Koda, was at the base of the couch guarding the three. The family watched as Jacob was the first to stir. He looked over to see the bruises on Verne's neck hadn’t gone away, they were reverting back to the bright red of when he first gave the love bites. Something was wrong. 

Bella woke up as Jacob moved his arm to tug at the bottom of Verne's shirt. The bruises on her hips were still there too. Jacob frowned seeing them, they should’ve been gone. She seemed weak, he could feel it. Verne didn’t even move in her sleep, almost like she was in a coma. 

“Bella, are you gonna be okay for an hour or two without Verne?” 

“I don’t know, I think so.” 

Jacob slowly got up, gently laying Bella’s head down on a pillow to replace himself. He went to pick Verne up. She was still asleep, head and hand resting on Bella’s stomach to stop her pain. Verne stirred very slightly as Jacob picked her up bridal style. 

“Hmm?” Verne's eyes fluttered open a little bit before closing again. 

“Come on, baby,” Jacob whispered. 

“Where are you going?” Rosalie and Edward asked. 

“She can’t heal herself if she’s too focused on taking away someone else’s pain. I’m taking her upstairs, don’t worry we’re not leaving.” 

“But what about Bella? The pain?” Edward asked.

“It’s just an hour. The bruises need to heal, they should have been gone by now.”

“Bruises you caused.” 

“Let’s not start comparing the damage we’ve done… my _imprint_ is my top priority.” 

No one dared stop him, not that Esme or Carlisle would let them. They understood for Jacob, Verne was the most important thing no matter what the circumstances. Jacob laid her down on the bed, brushing hair out of her face before going downstairs to get a blood bag. 

“We need to find a way to get some food into her system.” He heard Esme say. 

“If I could only see the fetus—”

“Baby.” Rose corrected Alice. 

“Baby. Maybe I could figure out what it wants.” 

“I think you might be right,” Edward said. “Jake just had an idea.” 

Jacob huffed, digging around the fridge for a bag Verne wouldn’t find completely disgusting. “It wasn’t an idea, more of a snide comment.”

Jacob closed the fridge door and turned to see everyone looking at him. 

“What were you thinking?” Carlisle asked. 

“That it’s probably just looking for someone to sink its teeth into,” Jacob said tossing the blood bag in his hand. 

He reopened the fridge for Carlisle to get blood and left to go back upstairs. Verne was sitting up in bed shivering, as if suddenly aware of how cold her skin really was. Jacob set the bag down and engulfed her in a hug until the shivers stopped. 

“How long were you using your powers?”

“24/7. I can do it in my sleep if I try hard enough.”

“Verne…”

“She’s in pain, Jake.”

“And you will be too if you don’t rest a little.” 

Jacob forced her to drink the blood bag. Verne struggled to swallow it down and felt no different. She had used her powers for too long, and Bella’s baby took more energy than she thought it did. Verne was doing double duty, not just helping Bella with her pain, but helping the baby with its thirst. Leaving no energy for herself. The blood stayed down maybe five minutes before Verne ran to the bathroom and threw it all up in the toilet. Jacob helped clean her up as she sat on the bathroom counter. 

“It hurt to keep it down.”

“You can’t do this again, V. You can’t use your powers twenty-four seven on Bella.”

“It’s not Bella, it’s the baby. And I can’t help one without the other, I’m not that advanced with my powers Jake.” 

Verne looked like she was going to pass out. Jacob had one hand on her thigh and another on her back to keep Verne steady. He could see the damage being done, the toll everything was taking on her body. The animal blood that did work its way through her system did nothing. Only a little color returned but that was it. 

“You need to feed.”

“It’s not enough. I’ll be fine. I think I just need to rest.” 

“You need more than animal blood.”

Verne lifted her head to look at her boyfriend. Jacob, a werewolf of all people, was not actually suggesting she feed on somebody. 

“That would be breaking the treaty in all sorts of ways. And I’m not feeding off of an unsuspecting person.” 

“Me.”

Verne couldn’t believe what she was hearing. There was no sign of joking on Jacob’s face. Never would he think of such a thing but he could feel how weak she was. The bond allowed him to know so much about Verne, sometimes more than she knew of herself. When he said Verne was weak what he really meant was close to death. 

He could feel it in the way his heart hurt, it was close to a pain that could kill. Jacob had been around the Cullens long enough, he knew that human blood was technically better. That she needed less of it and it was one hundred percent more potent and effective than any regular animal. Verne shook her head as Jacob rolled up the sleeve of his shirt. 

“Jacob, I can’t… if I hurt you—”

“You won’t. You need this Verne, I wouldn’t be saying it if it wasn’t true.”

Verne hesitantly lifted his arm to her mouth. She mumbled a quick ‘sorry’ and kissed his wrist before biting. Jacob winced in slight pain upon initial bite. He watched the bruises on her skin fade completely. Verne's face was filling out again and life returned. Her eyes stayed amber, not a drop of red in sight. Despite him being her blood singer, the human part of Verne made it really easy to pull away when she was satisfied. Jacob ran his hand under the sink water and they both watched as his wound healed leaving only a faint scar. 

“See, I’m fine,” he said rolling the sleeve of his shirt down. 

Jacob kissed Verne's cheek to try and reassure before picking her up and taking her back to bed.

* * *

Verne was over at Sam’s house explaining everything. At first the wolves wanted to fight. But a sharp reminder from Verne that the Cullens were her family had them stand down. The last thing they’d want to do is something that could affect her badly. 

Carlisle told her and Jacob to leave for the day, that they could hold down the fort while the two got a much deserved break. Verne brought Koda with her, the pack showing the dog lots of love.

“So Bella has to drink blood? Like V?” Quil asked. Everyone was on the couch or in the living room, just resting. 

“Yeah, in a cup and everything.”

“And it’s human?”

“The baby needs that at the moment.”

“That’s actually disgusting, the thought of drinking human blood.” Paul shuddered. 

“You let her do what?!” all the wolves screamed at the same time. 

“Shit, didn’t mean to think about that.” Jacob shrugged and hugged Verne tighter to his chest. 

“Jake, man, what the hell. That’s actively breaking the treaty,” Paul said, although he didn’t really give a damn about the treaty. 

He was just really disgusted. They all were. It was one thing to watch Verne drink blood from a blood bag, especially knowing it was animal. It was an entirely different thing to get an instant replay of watching her actively sink fangs into Jacob’s skin from his perspective. She didn’t look feral, in fact she seemed completely in control but the blood around the mouth was horrifying. 

“Does the treaty even really exist anymore?”

“You could at least act like it does, dude.”

“She was dying,” Jacob explained even though he didn’t have to. They could all feel it when Jacob let the thought slip out.

Verne sunk into Jacob’s arms, slightly uncomfortable with the whole situation. Feeding off of a human didn’t make her very proud and the notion that she could’ve actually died just made her upset. Jacob kissed the top of her head. No one said anything more, not wanting to make Verne feel worse. Verne felt herself getting sleepy, helping Bella was really a strain on her energy toll. The wolves watched as Jacob traced small circles on her arms helping lull Verne into sleep. He smiled contently as she attempted to bury herself even deeper into his embrace.

“You really love her,” Sam looked at the two.

“Since before I imprinted.”

Verne felt refreshed as she and Jacob made it back to the Cullen house. They were ready to help Bella in any way she needed, careful not to push too hard. Bella was holding a cup of blood when Verne and Jake walked in.

“Bella,” Rosalie started. “Why don’t you tell Jacob and V what you’ve decided.”

Verne and Jake looked at each other and then back at the family confused. 

“Rose is trying to talk Bella out of her baby names,” Edward said, amused at the whole situation.

“Well, if it’s a boy. I was thinking of EJ for Edward Jacob.”

“Damn, that was gonna be mine one day. Oh well, you’re the one having a baby first.” Verne shrugged not thinking much of it. 

Edward looked shocked and happy, “You were gonna name your kid after me?”

“Well not anymore, we’ll name him after Jasper now.” Verne laughed watching the smile on Ed’s face drop. 

“Okay, EJ’s not so bad,” Rose conceded. “Why don’t you tell them the girl’s name.”

“I was toying around with our moms’ names, Renee and Esme, so… Renesmee.”

“Renesmee…” Jacob repeated slowly.

“Too weird?” Bella looked at the two. Verne couldn’t say anything, it was certainly different. 

“No, it’s beautiful and unique. I like it.” Edward swooped in and saved them. 

Bella smiled knowing Edward liked the name and picked up the cup of blood behind her. She took one small sip before the cup accidentally fell out of her hand and landed on the floor, bright red staining the carpet. Bella started to bend down and pick it up when her back cracked. 

Verne went wide-eyed in panic but still made her way to Bella as she fell to her knees. They could hear the cracking as Verne took away the pain. Alice called for Carlisle as Edward scooped up Bella. Verne struggled to keep up with her brother’s fast pace as she tried to keep a hand on Bella at all times. This was possibly the worst timing ever with Carlisle still on duty at the hospital. Alice came into his office with the phone still in her hand. 

“Carlisle says the placenta must have detached. He’s trying to come as fast as he can.”

“There’s no time, we’re gonna have to do it.” Rose reached for the scalpel to give Bella a C-Section. 

“Get him out now!” Bella yelled. 

Verne was doing her best to dull everything but the baby was stronger than she thought. Rosalie started the C-Section but was quickly overwhelmed by the scent of blood. Alice rushed her out the room leaving Verne, Edward, and Jacob to help Bella. 

“You’ve got to change her,” Jacob told Edward. 

“It’s still in there, I’ve gotta get him out first.”

Edward went into panic mode, the scalpel wasn’t strong enough to get through the placenta. He resorted to using his teeth. Bella screamed briefly before everything in her went numb, Verne was using all the strength she could to keep Bella's senses down. 

“Focus on keeping your heart beating, Bella.” Jake was holding onto her arms. 

Edward finally got the baby out. “It’s Renesmee.” 

“Bella?” 

Jacob noticed her body stop moving. He tried to perform CPR but it wasn’t doing anything. Edward handed Jacob the baby as he pulled out multiple needles. He stuck the first big one in Bella’s heart. 

“What’s that?” Jacob asked as he tried to shush a crying Renesmee. 

“My venom,” Edward answered. 

He took the rest of the needles and began sticking Bella all over with them. He waited a beat but nothing happened. Edward started pressing on Bella’s heart trying to reactivate it. He started to bite Bella but still nothing. 

Verne felt weak. She looked across Bella’s body to see the blurry image of her brother biting her. A second later she slumped to the floor. 

“Verne!” Jacob screamed, alerting Rosalie who came back into the room. 

Rosalie took the baby from Jacob and he raced to pick Verne up from the floor. The pack could hear Jacob’s thoughts from miles away and were already at Billy’s house by the time he got there. They cleared off the couch for him to set Verne down on. 

“What the hell happened?!” Paul asked angry, Verne had really grown to be a sister to him and anything that got her hurt got him pissed. 

“Bella, she tried to help…” Jacob’s words came out in fragments but the pack could read his thoughts easily and get a full picture. 

“She’s shivering like crazy.” Quil pointed out. 

“Convulsions.” Jacob sat down and brought her body closer to his trying to keep her warm and as still as possible. Seth ran into Jacob’s room for some blankets. 

“Why would she be convulsing?” 

“When it comes to pain, I don’t think V knows how to dull it. I think she absorbs it.”

“… and she just took all of Bella’s…” Leah put two and two together. 

The wolves could hear her heartbeat, one a vampire shouldn’t even have, working triple duty to keep blood pumping through. Jacob got the theory after watching the change Verne had after she drank some of his blood. Whatever she did to absorb pain ate away at the vampire side of her energy until only the human side created by the imprint was left. And it didn’t matter how supernatural she was, the human side could only take so much and Verne needed human blood to replenish and keep it going. 

Carlisle and the others raced into Billy’s house without much thought. Carlisle was almost distraught at the sight of his youngest. The pack instantly cleared a path for him to rush over. Carlisle bent down and brushed her hair away from her face. He didn’t want to acknowledge the heartbeat that he could hear pumping overtime. 

“Can you do anything for her?” Jacob asked. 

“We just have to keep her alive until the pain subsides.”

“That pain killed Bella, what is it going to do to Verne?”

“Bella’s alive, you can hear her heartbeat. It’s faint but it’s there.”

“What?”

“Verne took it away. Dulled her senses so much it’s as if we pumped a gallon of morphine in her system. She should wake up fully after Edward’s venom turns her.” 

Carlisle moved out of the way just quick enough to avoid Verne throwing up on him instead of the floor. It was all blood. Jacob grew worried, thinking about last time. He rubbed Verne's back before she laid back down on him. He pulled up the blanket Seth brought out higher to cover her. 

“Sorry, Mr. Black. I’ll clean that up,” Verne said feebly. 

“Don’t even think about it,” Billy said. 

Esme turned to him. “I think it’s best if she stays here with Jacob until she’s okay.”

“I agree.” 

Each of the Cullens gave Verne a kiss on the forehead and a promise to come back tomorrow after dealing with Bella’s new vampire situation and every day after that until she got better. Verne shifted a bit more in Jacob’s arms. He was just grateful the shivering and shaking had stopped, it was a small sign of her recovering. 

“You think she needs to… you know…” Embry made a biting motion. 

“She wouldn’t do it again even if I begged her. She’ll choose to push through this on her own.” Jacob looked down. 

“She’s strong, Jacob. A hell of a lot stronger than she seems. She’ll pull through.” Sam patted Jake on the shoulder.


	19. Chapter 19

It took three days for both Verne and Bella to recover and five for Jacob to spill the beans to Charlie so their family wouldn’t have to leave. Of course, Charlie didn’t know about the whole vampire thing. Just the fact that Verne's boyfriend could turn into a giant animal. Jacob watched as she moved a little slower than usual in the Cullens’ kitchen while getting ready. 

“I just had to recover just in time for the first day of school.” 

“Senior year, babe.”

“You know this is pointless, I passed all the credit requirements last year. I’m basically going in to fill out a bunch of paperwork for the next like three weeks to get my diploma early. I should be able to do this online, not have to come in. So ridiculous.” 

Edward came into the house with Renesmee. She reached out for Verne. The Cullen bounced Renesmee on her hip and sung quietly as she poured out the smoothie she made into a glass. The baby giggled happily. Renesmee stuck a hand on her face and sent Verne images in her mind to let her know she liked Verne's voice. 

“Yeah? You want another song?” 

“You’re good with kids.”

“Was a camp counselor at a daycare in my human life.” Verne handed off Renesmee to Jacob so she could finish packing and eating her breakfast. 

Edward smiled from the couch. Verne and Jacob would actually make good parents. The way the two watched over Renesmee, he was sure of it. Bella came back with the rest of the Cullens from hunting. 

“Just in time, I was about to leave. Happy birthday, Bells.” Verne gave her friend a hug. 

“I stopped aging three days ago.”

“Still your birthday, and the family’s got a surprise for you. Catch you all later, be back in like two hours.” 

Verne walked out the door a little bummed she was going to miss Bella’s birthday surprise, knowing Emmett spent literally all night working on the little cottage for Bella, Edward, and Renesmee.

* * *

The house was a bit quieter that night without Edward and Bella but with a child everyone agreed it’d be nice for them to have their own space. Aside from the two hours Verne was filling out forms at school, Jacob hadn’t left her side. They were in bed, resting and watching television. 

“You know, I’ve been thinking about what you asked in San Francisco,” Verne said rubbing up and down Jacob’s arms. 

“Yeah?”

“What we’re gonna do with our lives. How we want to spend our future together… how much time I have with you…”

“As long as a wolf keeps phasing, he doesn’t age. You have as much time with me as you want,” Jacob answered.

Verne felt better knowing that. She knew it was a long time away but it still had made her anxious.

“I want forever with you.”

“Then forever you’ll have.” Jacob kissed her.

“Do we have to stay in Forks forever? Because of the pack?”

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” 

“I wanna get married, I want us to have a family and enjoy life. Maybe move at some point.”

“Sam can hold down the fort here without me. You want to go back to San Francisco?”

“Maine.”

“Maine?” Jacob questioned. 

“We have a family home there,” Verne explained. “Practically an estate. Deed’s in my name, no more relatives. It’s probably a bit run down but it’s ours.”

“So we get married and move to Maine.”

“We renovate the house so the pack and my family have a place to visit anytime.”

“But we come back to Forks and visit frequently.”

“Of course, we shouldn’t make them come to us all the time. Plus we need to see Charlie and Sue.”

“And my old man would miss us a lot.”

“The old man’s coming with us.”

“Really?”

“Grandpa Billy needs to be close to the children.”

“Children? More than one?”

“What… did you only want one?”

“No, no, I like multiple. I just thought you’d only want one.”

“Well one would be easier to get through school. Tuition can be expensive.”

“Tuition? Private school?”

“My cousins went to one of the best in the state. My brother too, they had a boarding program. Top education, they’ve even got cute uniforms.”

“Could we afford that?”

“Well I have all my inheritance plus I’d get a job. I’m thinking of running a shop. Fashion design. Custom clothing and tailoring such.”

“You know how to design?”

“Second degree I got. Trained under Dolce and Gabbana.”

“Impressive. Can’t let you do all the work though, I’d run my own mechanic shop.”

“You should name it The Garage.”

“I like that. Nice ring to it.”

Verne and Jacob paused before looking each other in the eye and laughing. 

“Not even on step one of marriage and we’ve already planned our whole lives,” Jacob said.

“Not even moved out of my bedroom.” 

Jacob pulled Verne over so she was laying completely on top of him. The two of them had just calmed down from laughing. 

“Should we make a dream board with our plans?” Jacob chuckled. 

“I’ll get started on it tomorrow… I love you, Jake.”

“I love you, too.”

Jacob sat up so he could kiss her better. His hands roamed under the big t-shirt she was wearing. The lack of any clothes but his shirt made it easier for him to touch Verne. And his lack of shirt made it easier for Verne to run her hands up and down Jake's body. She tried to push him down on the bed but Jacob didn’t budge. He brushed his hand against her cheek.

“I want to satisfy you, Verne."

“Jacob, you do.”

“I want to make love to you. No needing to do more because I need it.”

“I thought we got past the bruises, babe.”

Jacob let out a short laugh. “Not the bruises. I know you want me to let go. You do that for me now let me do this for you.”

Jacob’s hands were once again under her shirt. He kissed a trail starting from Verne's forehead to her neck. He slowly moved her hips in a circle as he nipped at Verne's ear. 

“Jake,” Verne half whispered half moaned.

Jacob kissed her lips gently but full of passion. “Let me take care of you babe.”

* * *

Edward was very hesitant when Verne and Jacob suggested bringing Renesmee to see the pack, and very relieved when none of them imprinted. He might have a truce with the wolves for his sister's sake but if one of them had imprinted on Renesmee he wasn’t sure what he’d do. With formalities out of the way, the pack was able to freely come and go in the Cullen house once again. Not that they all did too much. Everyone got along for Verne and Jake’s sake, but few had become like family to one another. 

Verne parked her car in the garage and stumbled into the house knowing everyone would be there. 

“Guess who’s graduated?!” she yelled into the house. “And they said I don’t have to walk if I don’t want to. Senior year, even easier the fifth time around.”

Verne joked as she came up the stairs from the garage only to find no one in the living room. Not even a scent left behind from anyone could be sensed when Verne dropped her shield. Not the Cullens, not the pack, not even Jacob. The only creature to greet the girl was Koda as she came down the stairs, licking Verne's hand and demanding scratches.

“Really? Everyone ditched me?” she muttered as she made her way into the kitchen. 

“I hope whatever you ditched me for was fucking worth it,” she yelled to no one but an empty house. 

Jacob came bounding into the house as Verne yelled that, laughing. 

“That would be my fault. Told them I was taking you out on a date tonight, everyone decided there was no point in staying.” 

“Should I dress nice?” Verne looked at Jacob who was not too fancy but definitely a little more than casual, swapping out his normal t-shirt for a rolled-up button down shirt. 

Jacob held up the pizza box he had behind his back. “You decide.”

Since it was pizza, she opted to match Jacob’s state of dress— not too fancy but not too casual either. Jacob pulled up to the **‘Welcome to Forks’** sign. Verne got out of the car and sat on the front hood. 

“You know, I think this might have been my favorite dates we did,” she said as she ate pizza. 

“Really? What about our vacation? This one was really your favorite?”

“Yeah, it was when everything was simpler. No supernatural bullshit. Just Verne and Jake.” She looked over at Jake. “And your hair was longer.”

“You liked my long hair?” Jacob grinned as he ate a slice.

“Loved it.”

Jacob walked back around the car and brought out a Tupperware container of cake. 

“Sue’s strawberry?” Verne asked hopeful.

“Right on the money, babe.” 

It had been forever since Verne had any of Sue’s baking. Jacob was standing in front of her, both hands on her waist. Before he had a chance to grab the fork, Verne took a forkful of cake and fed it to him. 

“You know we still have to pick a new date for Hawaii,” Jacob said after swallowing the bite of cake.

“Mmm? Maybe after Christmas. Everyone’s gonna want to spend Christmas together especially with Renesmee so maybe a few days after. I’m thinking New Year’s there must be fun.” 

“Hey, Verne.”

“Yeah, Jake?”

“I wanna try something.”

The girl smiled, knowing exactly where this was going. She watched confused as Jacob didn’t lean in to kiss her but started to go down instead. Jacob fished in his back pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. He opened it to reveal a ring inside. 

“Jacob, are you for real?” Verne asked barely above a whisper. 

“Verne. I can honestly say I love you. Even before I knew it, you were my world the moment you entered my life and I don’t want you to leave it. It’s not just the imprint, I would’ve fallen for you regardless and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

“Jacob Black, of course I will marry you.”

Jacob slipped the ring on her finger before getting up and kissing his now fiancée. Verne pulled back slightly to look him in the eye, not really believing what was happening. She smiled wider and kissed him again.

Edward could read his sister's mind as soon as they stepped into the house. He got up from where he was sitting with Bella and Renesmee on the couch. 

“Are you serious?”

Verne removed her hand from Jacob’s and showed her brother. Whatever she did caught the rest of the Cullen siblings' attention as they all raced over to see. Alice and Rosalie were giddy at the thought of another wedding. Edward hugged Verne, reading her mind he could see how happy she was. 

“You know we got to tell the pack,” Jacob said as he kissed her forehead. “And your parents.”

“And your dad.”

“My old man already knows…helped me find the ring.”

“It’s Sarah’s?” Edward looked at Jacob in surprise.

Verne turned to her now fiancé. “Your mom?”

“Do you like it?” Jacob asked, suddenly nervous about the ring.

“I love it even more.” 

The Cullen siblings cooed as Verne looked at him. Especially Jasper, who could feel the love radiating from the two of them. Carlisle and Esme were overjoyed. All they wanted was to see their youngest daughter happy. Jacob did that and more. Carlisle didn’t hesitate to tell Jacob he approved of the marriage.

* * *

Naturally, Leah was the first one out of Emily’s house when she heard Jacob’s thoughts.

“My bitch is getting married!!” 

Verne and Jacob laughed as Leah ran out the house screaming. Verne had to use all her strength to stop her from tackling Verne to the ground as they both slowly descended onto the grass. Jacob left the two girls on the lawn as he walked inside.

“Careful, Leah,” Verne said as the she-wolf laid on top of her. 

Leah looked at her confused. She knew her strength couldn’t put a dent in Verne even if she tried.

“I’m pregnant,” Verne whispered.

“The fuck? For real?” Leah looked at the space in between Verne and her, looking at her stomach.

“Don’t think about it too hard, Jacob doesn’t know.” 

“Thoughts are sealed. For real?”

Verne nodded. She knew it after missing her period the imprint so kindly gave back. Multiple pregnancy tests later had confirmed it.

“Shouldn’t you be all, you know…” Leah puffed up her cheeks. “Like Bella?”

“I went to the gynecologist. It looks completely normal, or at least a lot slower. Not sure how long that’ll last.”

“Holy shit I’m gonna be an Aunty.”

Jacob stuck his head out the doorway. “Leah, I think everyone else wants to see Verne.”

“Yeah in a minute.”

Leah turned back to her. “When are you gonna tell everyone?”

“For Christmas? Or if I start to show.”

“I’m expected to keep a secret that long?”

“Leah, please.”

“I’m messing with you. No one’s gonna know. Come on up, let’s get you inside before Jared accuses me of holding you hostage.”

The rest of the pack congratulated the two on their engagement when Verne finally stepped inside with Leah. 

“When’s the wedding?”

“I just got engaged yesterday, Paul.”

“So, the wedding. When is it?” 

Verne looked at Jake. With the money Carlisle had inherited over his many centuries, they didn’t have to save up for the wedding. And there was no need to test anything out, the two knew they were made for each other. 

“A couple of weeks? I don’t really want anything big anyway. Just family,” Verne told Jacob.

“What about your Forks friends?”

“Nah, just family.”

“Okay, then I guess we’ll have the wedding in a few weeks.”

Despite a just family wedding, Alice had gone all out with the decorations. Verne's dress fit just right, nothing showing at all. The wedding was on the Cullen side and the reception was a bonfire at the res. Verne rested her head on Jacob’s shoulder as the two of them sat on a log in front of the fire and ate cake. Rosalie snapped as many pictures as she possibly could. The bride and groom still in wedding dress and tux in front of the fire quickly became everyone’s favorite picture. 

Jacob and Verne had switched out of their clothes into bridge and groom pajamas. Back at the Cullen house, they were playing with Renesmee while the others hunted. The two had decided to wait and make Hawaii their honeymoon trip. Verne measured Renesmee against the wall in the kitchen that Carlisle had been marking it every day. It seemed like she was quickly growing, she looked like the family could now enroll her in elementary school if they wanted to. Bella and the others walked in as Verne finished drawing the line. 

“It’s higher than two days ago,” she told her sister-in-law.

“I can’t help but think about how much time we actually have with her.”

“Just got to make every moment special, Bells. It’ll be alright.”

Verne and Jacob joined Bella and Renesmee the next day in the empty field near their cottage. Verne was resting on Jacob, who was in wolf form, with Koda’s head on her lap. It had started to snow slightly, melting as it touched the ground. They watched as Renesmee jumped up to catch them. Bella made her way over to where Verne was sitting. 

“Edward thinks we’ll find answers in Brazil. There are some tribes there that might know something.”

“When do you leave?”

“Soon, do you guys want to come with us?”

“Why not? Jake and I will be moral support.”

“Look, V. Look at this snowflake.” Renesmee ran over to show her the snowflake in her hand.

“It’s very pretty, Nessie,” Verne said as she watched the snowflake melt in her hand. 

Renesmee smiled, bending down to pet Koda before going off to catch more. 

“Who’s that?” Renesmee asked.

Both Verne and Bella looked over to where she was pointing. 

“I think that’s our cousin from Denali, Irina!” Bella called out. 

Irina ran off. The two vampires left Renesmee with Jacob while they chased after her. They approached the edge of a cliff and she was nowhere to be found. 

“She must’ve jumped,” Verne concluded.

“Why’d she run?”

“No clue, let’s get Nessie and go home.”


	20. Chapter 20

“Were the snowflakes fun?” Esme asked as they walked into the house. She was in the kitchen cooking for Verne, Renesmee, and Jacob. 

“Yeah. We saw Irina today but she kind of just ran off.”

“I’ll call the Denali’s,” Carlisle said. 

He returned just as they began to eat lunch. “Tanya convinced Irina to come reconcile with us after Bella and Edward’s wedding.”

“Well it looks like she changed her mind,” Edward said.

“She’s family. She’ll come around.” 

The wolf pack had come over after lunch at Verne's request. She and Jacob wanted everyone to try and get along more, not just tolerate each other. It wasn’t easy but slowly people were opening up. To everyone’s surprise but Verne's, Leah and Rosalie started to grow closer. She knew their general disdain for everything would make them quick friends. 

Edward was teaching Renesmee to play the piano as everyone hung around. Alice walked in with a new flower arrangement. Just as Renesmee hit a high note on the piano key, the vase Alice was holding dropped to the ground as she stood there frozen. Everyone looked over. Jasper rushed to grab Alice.

“What did you see?”

“The Volturi. Aro, Caius, Marcus, the guard, Irina…” Alice said. “They’re coming for us.”

“What did Irina see in the woods?” Edward asked Verne and Bella. 

“Nothing,” Verne answered. 

“Yeah, Ness was just catching snowflakes,” Bella added.

“Of course. Irina thinks Renesmee’s an immortal child,” he said. 

“A what?” Leah asked. 

Verne took Renesmee upstairs to rest in her room while Carlisle ushered everyone into the library. 

“Immortal children…” Carlisle explained. “Were very beautiful. So enchanting that to be near them was to love them. But development freezes at the age you’re turned and they couldn’t be taught or restrained. A single tantrum could destroy villages. The Volturi was forced to intervene. The children couldn’t protect our secret and had to be destroyed. The creators grew very attached and fought to protect them. Long established covens torn apart, countless human lives slaughtered. Traditions, friends, even families. All lost.”

“So, the Denali’s mother made an immortal child?” Bella asked. 

“And she paid the price.”

“Ness isn’t like that though. She was born not bitten, she grows every single day.”

“We can’t just explain that to the Volturi?” Seth asked. 

“Aro has enough proof of what he wants in Irina’s thoughts,” Edward said. 

“Ok, so we fight,” Sam said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Emmett and Jacob agreed with him. 

Jasper shook his head. “Their offensive weapons are too strong. No one can stand against Jane and her brother’s even worse.”

“So we convince them,” Bella said. 

“Well they’re coming to kill you, not talk.”

“No, you’re right,” Edward started. “They won’t listen to us; but, maybe others can convince them. Carlisle, we have friends all around the world.”

“I won’t ask them to fight.”

“Not fight, witness. Maybe if enough people knew the truth, maybe we could convince the Volturi to listen.”

Esme turned to Carlisle. “We can ask this of our friends.”

* * *

Verne woke up to see Jacob opening his eyes as well. He pecked her on the lips. 

“Good morning, Mrs. Black.”

“Mmm, I could get used to the sound of that.” 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Jacob pecked her on the lips again before the two got out of bed to get ready. They were traveling with Bella and Edward to find witnesses, starting with their cousins in Alaska. Verne walked downstairs to get a blood bag. She noticed a note in the fridge drawer with her breakfast. 

“Guys!” she called through the house. 

Everyone raced downstairs, except for Alice and Jasper. Just like she thought. 

“Alice and Jas are gone. They left. Didn’t say why.”

Verne handed the note Bella for her to look at. There wasn’t much instruction: _‘Gather as many witnesses as you can before the snow sticks to the ground. That’s when they’ll come._ ’ 

The only other words were on the other side of the page, ‘The Merchant of Venice’ by William Shakespeare, showing the book Alice must’ve gotten the paper out of. Bella set the note down. They didn’t have time to think much about their siblings sudden disappearance. They had to set off for Alaska. 

* * *

The Cullen household was slowly filling with more and more vampires. Carlisle had met many special vampires in his life, each gift they showed was more incredible than the other. Verne was happy that they had allies but felt bad for the Quileutes. The more vampires that entered, the more likely someone would turn. Not everyone who had the gene phased, but they all came down with the fevers. Jacob and Sam worked overtime whenever they had to watch out for a new potential pack member. 

“She went to bed without a fuss,” Verne said coming downstairs.

“Thank you for watching her so much.”

“No problem, Bells. It’s what we do for family. Ness understands you’re busy.”

Verne sat in between Jacob and Eleazar, a vampire from the Denali coven. 

“When Aro wants someone from a coven, it’s never long before evidence turns up proving that coven committed some crime,” Eleazar said. 

“So he’s done this before?” Bella asked. 

“It happens so rarely, I never realized it was a pattern.”

“Apparently he always pardons one person whose thoughts he claims are repenting,” Carlisle said. Verne forgot there had been a brief moment when Carlisle had been a part of the Volturi. He provided useful tidbits from his time.

“This person always has an ability… and is always given a place in the guard.” Eleazar added. 

“So then this is about Alice,” Edward said. “He has no one like her. That’s why she left.”

“Then why does he need witnesses?” Emmett asked.

Alistair, one of Carlisle’s old friends, came stomping downstairs from the attic. “To spread the word that justice has been served after he slaughters an entire coven.” 

“Benjamin, Tia, we’re leaving.” Amun stood up to take his coven home. 

“And where will you go?!” Edward stopped them in their tracks. “What makes you think he’ll be satisfied with just Alice? What’s to stop him from going after Benjamin next. Or Zefrina, or Kate, Bella, anyone else with a gift, anyone they want. This isn’t about punishment. It’s about power, acquisition. Carlisle won’t ask you to fight but I will. For the sake of my family, but also yours and how you want to live.”

Jacob removed his arm from around Verne's waist and stood up. “The pack will fight. We’ve never been afraid of vampires before.” 

“We will fight.” Their cousins stood up as well. 

Garrett stepped up. “Won’t be the first time I’ve fought a king’s rule.” 

Every vampire there, all eighteen of them and whoever else was on their way, agreed to stand with the Cullen family. 

* * *

Verne, Bella, and Jacob had taken Renesmee to Charlie’s house. Charlie still lived with only half a foot in the doorway of their world. He knew clearly that Renesmee was older than she should be but he couldn’t figure out why on his own. Charlie just learned to accept it and if he truly needed to know, they would tell him. 

Bella left before dinner, not saying where she was going, only that she would be back later. They slept over at Charlie’s house, Bella told them all to stay and she and Edward would come over tomorrow for Christmas. 

Renesmee woke Verne and Jacob up, they had slept on the couch, as she came downstairs yelling about snow. Verne ran outside to watch her as Edward’s car pulled up along with the Clearwaters and Billy. Verne and Edward made eye contact nodding at each other. The snow was sticking to the ground. D-Day was here. Everyone was inside for the present exchange. They had pitched in to get Sue and Charlie an all expenses paid fishing trip and Billy a trip to visit Rebecca. No one wanted them in Forks when the Volturi arrived. They wouldn’t risk them getting hurt. They said their goodbyes to Charlie, Sue, and Billy before heading to Sam’s. The rest of the Cullen family was already there.

With all the vampires in the Cullen house, Sam didn’t feel comfortable going over for the holidays. They agreed to go over to the pack for Christmas and meet everyone else later that night in the woods before tomorrow’s inevitable battle. Verne helped Emily fish out the cookies from the oven. 

“What? How did Leah and Rosalie beat us?” Verne heard Quil yell. They were having a gingerbread house competition.

“Because it’s prettier,” Renesmee laughed out. 

Verne came around from the kitchen handing out mugs of cocoa to the pack, and blood for her family who needed to keep themselves at full strength, while Emily passed around some cookies. Verne stayed standing in an area where they could see the whole family.

“This might be really shitty timing seeing as there’s a fight tomorrow but I want to tell you all…” 

Verne desperately wished Jasper was there to manipulate her nervousness away. 

“We need all the men we can to protect Renesmee. The vampires who came to help us, the Cullens, the pack, Jacob and me so don’t let what I’m about to say cost us any manpower. Cause I’m going to continue to fight for my niece even after I tell you all that… I’m pregnant.” 

Leah breathed a sigh of relief as she finally let that thought go. The pack and Edward switched from looking between Verne to looking at Leah as they could see the scene in her mind. Rosalie, Carlisle, and Esme were beaming. Emmett and Bella clapped for the two. Verne looked over at her husband, who was just looking at her. 

“Jacob?”

“You’re pregnant?”

He got up from the couch and walked over to her. He gently placed a hand on Verne's stomach. She nodded her head, holding the sides of his face. 

“Congratulations, Verne,” Sam said. The rest of the pack echoed his sentiments. 

“I’m going to be a dad.” The realization hit Jacob. 

“Yeah Jake, we’re gonna be parents to one amazing child.” 

“Do you think you could parent one more?” Bella asked. 

Verne and Jacob looked at Bella confused. Bella pulled out the backpack she hadn’t let go of since this morning. Bella pulled out an envelope and handed it to Jacob. They both sat down and opened it. In it they found three passports, open plane tickets, and lots of money. 

“Alice’s note was a hidden message. I went to go figure it out yesterday. An old friend of hers.”

Verne flipped through the passports looking at the pictures of her, Jacob, and Renesmee. 

“Bells?”

“Alice’s vision is clear. Renesmee will have a future, just not one Edward and I have a part in.”

“It’s not going to come to that Bella.”

“But we need to be ready if it does. This is Alice’s plan.”

The air grew silent and heavy as Bella handed her the backpack. After Bella’s revelation, it was agreed that Verne, Renesmee, and Jacob would stay at Emily’s with the pack until tomorrow morning. The rest of the Cullens left to go meet the other vamps. Everyone else made their way into guest bedrooms and down into the basement, leaving Edward and Bella to have time with Renesmee alone in the living room. 

“When did this happen? You’re for real?” Jacob turned to face Verne. They were in the guest bedroom on the upper floor of Sam and Emily’s.

“Yeah, Jake. It’s real.” 

He kissed her and then her stomach. Jacob got up to turn off the light when someone knocked on the door. He opened it expecting Sam or Emily, instead it was Edward, Bella, and Renesmee. Verne got up to hug her friend and brother. 

“We’re heading out to meet the others now,” Edward said holding Verne tight. “Ness wanted to know if she could stay in your room instead of downstairs.” 

“Of course, kiddo, come on.” Jacob ushered Renesmee inside. “Listen, it’s all gonna work out for us.”

“I hope you’re right Jacob.” 

Edward didn’t say anything more before he and Bella left. Verne and Jacob moved to accommodate Renesmee on the bed.

* * *

They all waited in the clearing where the Volturi were going to be. The pack, already in wolf form, descended from the forest. Jacob nuzzled his head against Verne and bent down slightly so Renesmee could pet him. 

“The redcoats are coming,” Garrett whispered in a sing-song tone from behind them.

“Aro’s looking for Alice,” Edward said as they watched the vampire’s eyes scan the entire clan. 

Carlisle stepped forward. “Aro, let’s discuss things like we used to in a civilized tone.”

“Fair words Carlisle. Bit out of place given the battalion you have assembled against us.”

“I promise you that was never my intent. No laws here have been broken.”

“We see the child!” Caius spoke up. “Don’t treat us as fools.”

“She is not immortal.” Carlisle kept his voice calm and steady. “These witnesses can attest to that. You can look. See the flush of human blood in her cheeks.”

“Artifice!” Caius yelled. 

Aro held up a hand to silence him. “I will collect every face of the truth. Edward, as the child clings to your newborn mate, I would assume you are involved.” 

Verne put a hand on her brother’s shoulder. Edward looked at her, nodding that it was okay as he stepped forward to meet Aro. She watched Aro grab his hand, seeing everything. From the honeymoon, to Bella’s pregnancy, to Verne helping her, and finally Renesmee’s birth. 

“I’d like to meet the child.”

Verne and Jacob walked with Bella to escort Renesmee to Aro. 

“Ahh, young Bella. Immortality becomes you.” Aro looked down at Renesmee. “I hear a strange heart.”

Renesmee, showing no fear, placed a hand to Aro’s cheek to show him everything from her perspective. Aro laughed as her hand left his face. 

“Magnifico. Half mortal, half immortal. Conceived and carried by our newborn while she was still human.”

“Impossible,” Caius spat out.

“You think they fooled me brother?”

Verne walked back to join the witnesses as Aro called for the guard to bring forth Irina. 

“Is this the child you saw?” Aro asked her. 

“I’m— I’m not sure,” Irina said. 

“Jane.”

“She’s changed,” Irina said quickly before Jane could use her powers on her. “The child is bigger.”

“Then your allegations were false.”

“The Cullens are innocent, I take full responsibility for my mistake.” 

The two guards that held her started a fire. Irina mouthed ‘I’m sorry’. Edward screamed for them to stop and they watched in horror as they ripped off her arms and head, throwing them into a fire. 

“IRINA!” Tanya screamed. 

Garrett and Eleazar had to hold them back while Zefrina blinded them to stop them from running to their sister. Bella wasted no time putting Renesmee on Jacob’s back, fearing things would get very ugly very soon. 

“Aro, please. You see there is no law broken,” Carlisle pleaded with him. 

“Agreed; but, do we then know there is no danger. Humans pose a threat to us more now than ever and containing our secret is imperative. Only the known is safe, tolerable. And we know nothing of what this child will become. Are we to live with such an uncertainty, Carlisle? Spare ourselves a fight today only to die tomorrow?” 

“Alice,” Edward whispered before anyone could respond to Aro. 

Upon hearing the name, everyone turned. Coming up behind them was Alice and Jasper. Aro’s smile grew wider seeing the vampire. Jasper stopped near the family while Alice continued to walk towards Aro. 

“I have evidence the child will not be a risk to our kind.” 

Alice stuck out a hand to Aro. 

“It doesn’t matter what I show you,” Alice realized as she scanned Aro’s face. “Even when you see it, you still won’t change your mind.”

“Now,” Alice mouthed. 

In record time, Verne swung onto Jacob’s back as he turned to run away with her and Renesmee. 

“Get them,” Aro commanded a few of his guard.

Alice kicked Aro up into the air and attempted to run back to the Cullens when two guards grabbed her at Aro’s orders. 

“Let her go!” 

Carlisle ran towards the old vampire. The two jumped in the air and when they landed Aro held Carlisle’s head in his hands. Everyone watched in horror as Carlisle’s body slumped to the ground. 

Verne almost lost it in the woods when she heard Esme’s scream. Not knowing what was happening was really killing her. Jacob slowed slightly when he heard the howls. Verne knew someone in the pack must’ve been hurt or worse, killed. 

“Jake, Jacob. We have to keep going.”

Jacob snapped out of it and pushed harder. But whatever caused him to slow in the first place gave the two guards Aro sent after them enough time to catch up. Verne wrapped her arms around Renesmee and pulled her hard as the two of them jumped up and off of Jacob. He grabbed one vampire in his mouth, separating the body from its head. Upon landing, Jacob had Renesmee on his back again while Verne chased after the other guard. 

She ran at the fullest speed she could. Verne managed to wrap her body around his and take the vampire down. As she struggled to remove the head from his body, she screamed out in pain when he bit her. The pain gave Verne an extra adrenaline rush to completely remove his head. Verne raced to join back up to Jacob who slowed just enough for her to get back on his back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Ending is a choose your own, kind of like the Netflix Bandersnatch episode. So in one Alice's Vision is true and the other it is fake. This will have serious changes to the endings. Okay, that is all.


	21. Ending (Vision Comes True)

When they reached the airport, Jacob phased back. 

“Are you okay?” he looked at Verne's bleeding shoulder. 

“I’m good, let’s go.” 

Alice had multiple tickets. The first was for Brazil. Verne, Jacob, and Renesmee spent a few days with the Ticuna tribe of Brazil, learning about a half human half vampire named Nahuel. Renesmee would fully mature at seven, never ageing past her teens. The ageing would slow down immensely and allow her to be enrolled in middle and high school normally. But until she looked those ages it was best to homeschool. And like Verne, she survived on food and blood. 

Verne stepped away from eating with the tribe when her phone rang.

“Jasper? Jasper what happened? What the hell happened to all of you.”

“V. Come home. We’re safe now.” 

Verne was in a slump for days after their return. The Volturi might have been ended by their family but not without sacrifice. Carlisle, Edward, Bella, Rosalie, Seth, Leah, and Jared. All gone. Something no one never saw coming. Verne broke out of her depression by the end of the second week. It wasn’t fair that Jacob had to pack and take care of Renesmee all by himself, especially when she knew he was grieving too. It wasn't a full recovery but it was enough that Verne could help out.

“Say goodbye to grandma, Nessie.” She stood on the front porch as Renesmee gave Esme a hug goodbye. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us, mom?”

“We’re going to join the Denali’s. We’ll be down soon to visit. Don’t worry about us dear.”

Esme gave her daughter a small smile. Losing Carlisle was hard for Verne, she couldn’t imagine the pain Esme must be going through. Verne was glad the rest of the family stuck together. They finished saying goodbye to the family and the pack before Verne, Jake, and Renesmee left for the airport. 

* * *

Verne walked outside where Jacob was finishing up the renovations to the front porch. She held her stomach while bringing him a glass of lemonade. The pregnancy started normal, but very quickly after, Verne had become like Bella. The vampire portion kicking in and driving the pregnancy and baby into hyper drive. Verne had to drive to different hospitals and pregnancy clinics around Maine in order to keep the secret as she got ultrasounds. The twins were perfectly healthy. 

“Billy can come now that the place has been done up,” Verne said as she handed him the glass.

“Got the wheelchair ramps up quicker than I thought. Perfect timing, we can get the old man here just in time to see his grandsons born.” 

* * *

“Thank you, Mom,” Renesmee said as Verne handed her the cup of grapes.

Only recently had she changed from calling Verne and Jake, Mama V and Papa J, to just mom and dad. Verne understood the joy Esme felt the first time Verne called her mom. She handed the cups out to her other three kids as well. Edward-Jared was sitting on the floor so Renesmee could braid his hair before school. Just like Nahuel said, the aging slowed down enough for them to enroll her in sixth grade. 

Like Renesmee, Edward-Jared and Lee, aged slightly faster. But by the time they hit the age mark for fourth grade, their aging had slowed as well. Their other child after the twins, Carli Rose, aged even slower, only looking five years old. Verne and Jacob suspected the werewolf gene took over more and more with each kid. If they were to have another they’d probably age like a normal human, like Jacob did before he phased.

“When’s breakfast?” EJ asked.

“Ask your father, honey.”

“We’re gonna be late. Dad likes to take too long with his meals.”

“Maybe if you storm the kitchen, he’ll finish quicker. Come on, Rosie, let’s get dressed for today.”

Verne picked up the little girl and went upstairs to go put on clothes for work. When she made her way into the kitchen, Jacob scooped Carli from her arms. He was already in his mechanic uniform for work. Verne had suggested making uniforms and enjoyed designing the little logos for the business.

“You sent the wolves on me. Wouldn’t stop talking my ear off till breakfast was done.” Jacob gave Verne a kiss.

“Ew Dad, cool it with the PDA.”

They laughed as they watched Renesmee hit the back of Lee’s head, not once lifting her head from her stack of pancakes. Verne finished making sure all the kids had their uniforms on straight while Jacob started the car to drop them off at school. 

“Don’t forget. We’re picking up the family tomorrow from the airport.”

“Mom can I go with Aria to a concert this weekend?”

“Are her parents going, Ness?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t see why not. Jake?” Verne asked her husband as he adjusted the rearview mirror.

“Knock yourself out kiddo.” 

“Mom, can we get a dog? Like grandpa’s.”

“I don’t know, EJ. We’ll think about it.” 

Verne and Jacob had left Koda with Billy so he wouldn’t be too lonely. He wanted to stay in La Push after everything that happened, Sue and Charlie really needed him. 

After Jacob and the kids pulled off, Verne packed a bag of Carli’s snacks and headed to her clothing store. Homecoming season was rolling around and she was up to her knees in custom dresses and alterations. Verne put Jasper on FaceTime as she started adding beadwork to the neckline of a client’s dress.

“Jas! How’s everyone?” 

“They’re good. We’re with the pack now, actually. Everyone’s excited for tomorrow. How are the kids?”

“Everyone’s developing human-like,” she laughed. “They can’t wait to see you too. Is mom there?”

Jasper turned the phone so Verne could see Esme and Emily in the kitchen cooking. They both waved to her. Verne spent the better half of the day talking to her family and working on dresses. Jacob strolled in, carrying a bag.

“Switched lunches. Imagine my shock when I opened up the tumbler and found blood instead of iced coffee.” 

Verne pulled out the bag she had brought and handed it to Jake. 

“Do you have any customers right now?”

“Nope, do you? Back at the garage?”

“I’ve got John on an oil change, nothing else right now.”

“So picnic in my office?”

She pulled out Carli’s snacks so she could eat too as Verne and Jacob sat on the floor of her office eating lunch. 

“The kids want a dog…” he trailed off.

“Are we gonna get them one?”

“Maybe a different pet?”

The two laughed. Verne rested her head on Jacob’s shoulder. He looked down at her. 

“I love you.”

“Forever?”

“Forever.” 

Jacob kissed Verne, smiling as he did. Their life wasn’t perfect but they had their forever and that was good enough for Verne.


	22. Ending (Vision Stays Vision)

Alice pulled her hand from Aro’s grasp. Whatever he saw, Verne knew it shook him to his core. 

“Now you know, that’s your future. Unless you decide on another course.”

“We cannot alter our course, the child still poses a grave threat,” Caius spoke up.

“But what if you were sure she could remain concealed from the human world? Could we leave in peace?”

“Of course, but that can’t be known.”

“Actually, it can.” Edward smiled, reading Alice’s mind. 

They watched as a man and woman stepped towards them. For the better part of the week, Nahuel and his aunt from the Ticuna tribes of Brazil stayed with the Cullens while teaching them all about Renesmee. Renesmee would fully mature at seven, never ageing past her teens. The ageing would slow down immensely and allow her to be enrolled in middle and high school normally. But until she looked those ages it was best to homeschool. And like Verne, she survived on food and blood. 

* * *

Carlisle checked the ultrasound in his home-office. Verne's pregnancy started normal, but very quickly after the Volturi left she had become like Bella. The vampire portion kicking in and driving the pregnancy and baby into hyper drive. Her mostly vampire body helped her not get weak while carrying. Verne walked into the living room, immediately laying down on the couch. Jacob wrapped his arm around her for warmth. Everyone looked to the young Cullen to hear what Carlisle had said.

“Twins?!” Edward broke the silence. Leave it to her brother to know how to make an announcement. 

“Twins?!” Everyone else repeated. Jacob kissed Verne's temple and rubbed her stomach. 

“Yep, both boys. Both wearing me the fuck out, I can’t wait for this pregnancy to be done.” 

Verne was grateful to have Carlisle there every step of the way until she gave birth. It was relatively easy and in the end she had two very healthy babies: Edward Jared Black and Lee Ephraim Black. Like Renesmee, EJ and Lee aged slightly faster. 

* * *

“If you’re moving to Maine, let me go up with Jake and help fix the house so it’s ready in time.”

“It’s fine, Emmett,” Verne said from the front yard.

Billy had invited everyone over to his house for a 4th of July barbecue. Verne and Jacob were throwing around a frisbee with their kids, Koda trying to intervene and catch the Frisbee before one them could. EJ and Lee’s quick ageing stopped sooner than Renesmee’s. Carlisle thought Verne and Jake could enroll them in fourth grade now, they seemed to have stabilized. 

After that revelation, the couple decided to start seriously working on their family’s future. Everyone was surprised that the two wanted to go but they understood. Verne and Jacob from the outside had the most normal looking life and wanted to experience a bit of it. Of course, Rosalie was the first to stop complaining about the move when she saw Verne's family’s estate house. 

“I’m just saying, the house will be finished in time for the boys to start school.”

“We’re enrolling them for the Spring Semester. Not September, we need to get settled first. Jake has to finish the garage, I need to set up the clothing store.” 

“Come on, V!” 

“Emmett, we’re not moving till after the baby’s born why are you in such a rush to get rid of us.” Verne hurried the words out not even thinking about what was said. 

Everyone stopped eating to look at the small family. 

“Did you just say baby?” Billy asked. 

“Way to ruin the surprise, babe.” Jacob came up next to Verne. “Yeah, everyone we’re having another kid.” 

Esme immediately engulfed them in a hug. Everyone was happy with just Renesmee and the twins, not ever thinking they’d have kids in the family anyway. The announcement of another was overwhelming happiness. 

* * *

“Mom, I can’t find my sweater vest,” Lee said as he came downstairs. 

“You’re gonna wear the sweater vest and the shorts? You’ll look like an idiot.”

“Carli Rosa Black! Don’t be rude and go help your brother look for his vest,” Verne said as she sat on the couch, braiding EJ’s hair for school. 

Carli got up to help Lee. Just like her brothers, Carli, aged fast at first but stopped even earlier. She stabilized enough to be in third grade, only a year behind her brothers. Verne and Jacob suspected the werewolf gene took over more and more with each kid. If they were to have another they’d probably age like a normal human, like Jacob did before he phased.

Jacob came from the back of the house, in his mechanic uniform, with a basket of laundry. 

“Lee! I’ve got your uniform right here.” 

Jacob held up the sweater vest. Lee and Carli both came running back down stairs, Lee grabbing his vest from Jake to put on.

“Alright, get your shoes on before the bus gets here.” Verne finished with EJ’s hair and ushered the kids out the door. “And we’re going to Forks this weekend, don’t forget to pack when you get home!” 

“Family house, beautiful children, Maine, our own shops. We really accomplished that dream board.” Jacob came up behind Verne laughing as they watched the kids’ bus drive away. 

“We really did. Three kids, wow.” 

Jacob turned Verne around to face him. 

“You know, I’ve got an hour before I open shop. Wanna go for a fourth?”

“Oh you’re pushing it, Jake.” 

“Hmm?” Jacob kissed her. 

They both heard the cracks as his hands gripped her waist but it didn’t bother either of them anymore. The kissing became more intense as Verne wrapped her arms around his neck. They both pulled away slightly breathless. 

“I love you.”

“Forever?”

“Forever.” 

Jacob kissed Verne, smiling as he did.


End file.
